DAP deputy chairperson Gobind Singh Deo today said Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali is wrong in regarding that the luxury yacht Equanimity owned by Jho Low should not be claimed by the government.

Gobind, who is Puchong MP, said the test was not whether the yacht belonged to the government or not but whether it was related to a major investigation.

He said that if that was the case then the government should not be freezing or seizing anyone's personal assets because none of those belonged to the government either.

"The test should be whether or not the asset concerned forms or is related to the subject matter of any probe or investigation be it here in Malaysia or in other jurisdiction and whether its seizure will assist in that probe or investigation," he said in a statement.

Gobind was commenting on Apandi's response yesterday asking why the Malaysian government would want to claim (the Equanimity) as it did not belong to them.

Indonesian police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized the US$250 million (RM1 billion) yacht (below) off the coast of Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday.

The seizure is believed to related to the US Department of Justice's civil forfeiture suit in relation to Malaysian state fund 1MDB which the DOJ has described as the world biggest case of kleptocracy.

Gobind said whether Apandi likes it or not the 1MDB probe has attracted worldwide attention with countries being involved.

"This leaves us looking as if we are unable to deal with it at all. It is for these reasons perhaps Malaysia has fallen in rank when it comes to the global fight against corruption," said Gobind.

Swiss move

If it wins the next general election, Gobind said Pakatan Harapan pledges to reform the Attorney-General's Chambers and take action against all those found to have committed offences in 1MDB or cases related to it.

"We will also begin to take steps to recover as much as legally possible globally," he said.

Besides the seizure of Equanimity, it was reported earlier this week that the Swiss authorities seek to claim the RM400 million in unclaimed funds from its action on 1MDB.

1MDB dealings are being investigated by at least six jurisdictions including Hong Kong, Singapore, US and Luxembourg.