Asked if he accepted Najib’s apology, Loke told reporters the apology was irrelevant.

“It’s not a question of accepting any apology. With or without the apology, a crime is a crime.

“He has been convicted, and the conviction, of course, has been upheld by the (apex) court . He was found guilty. That remains a fact. So to me, the apology does not mean anything,” he said on the sidelines of an event here today.

Loke, the transport minister, reiterated that the government’s proposed house arrest bill had nothing to do with Najib but was about prison reforms.

He also said the proposed law, if passed, would not apply to convicts involved in “serious” crimes.

“There is a certain threshold so that (convicts of) a certain crime cannot be put under house arrest. Of course, for crimes which are serious, they are not permitted for house arrest.

“As far as Najib is concerned, he is still facing multiple charges,” he said.

Last week, Najib made an “unreserved” apology to Malaysians over the 1MDB fiasco, which has led to his incarceration in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

He said he had reflected on the scandal over the past 26 months and it pained him that it had occurred when he was the prime minister and finance minister

He nonetheless insisted that he was innocent, and denied being the mastermind or collaborating with fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, in the scheme.

Najib is serving a reduced six-year sentence following a decision by the Pardons Board, after he was convicted of misappropriating RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC.

On Wednesday, the High Court will decide whether he is to enter his defence in the 1MDB corruption case that started five years ago.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had welcomed Najib’s apology. Yesterday, he defended his brief remark, saying he welcomed the apology in good faith “as any leader should”, The Star reported.