PARLIAMENT Questions on the United States Department of Justice's (DOJ) civil suit involving the alleged misappropriation of 1MDB funds need not be answered in Parliament, Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia said today.

"It is a matter that is still being discussed in court... therefore it is sub judice... the minister need not answer such questions," Pandikar told the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said this is to avoid a situation where a minister is perceived to have assumed the role of speaker.

Pandikar was referring to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Parliament, Azalina Othman Said, who had previously refused to answer questions regarding 1MDB saying it was sub judice, even before Pandikar made a ruling on this.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Gelang Patah) questioned the ruling, asking whether a matter that was sub judice in a foreign court applied here, and if the ruling should be reviewed.

Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) also asked if Pandikar had reviewed the US court documents, before deciding that the matter was sub judice.

The speaker however said he would not review his ruling unless a private motion was tabled seeking it.

He also told Gobind that his full explanation would be given in a written reply to all MPs who had asked DOJ related questions.

The DOJ claims that more than US$3.5 billion in 1MDB monies had been misappropriated.

Of this amount, it claims US$731 million allegedly went into the accounts of an unnamed Malaysian Official 1 (MO1).

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan has said that MO1 was Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Najib has denied allegations of misappropriating public funds, brushing them off as part of a conspiracy to topple him.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali had also cleared the premier of any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal.