CAIRO: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today reaffirmed his zero-tolerance stance on corruption, stating that he will not protect anyone involved in such activities.
The Prime Minister said this also applies to those involved in corruption who try to evade arrest by becoming whistleblowers to expose these activities.
As such, Anwar said, he is leaving it to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to conduct investigations into all corruption cases, including the scandal involving eight state assemblymen who requested money in exchange for supporting project approvals.
"Do not use your position as the prime minister to provide protection to anyone (involved in corruption).
"I will never do that... I will not give them (those involved in corruption) such assurance.
"The unity government's policy is clear that we only provide protection to those who are not involved in corruption," he told Malaysian media at the end of his four-day long official visit to Egypt.
"So, if there is vague information, including whether the whistleblower is also involved in corruption, it needs to be carefully examined and investigated, rather than immediately granting protection to them," he added.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki recently confirmed a lawyer who represented a client, who claims to possess an audio recording of a state assembly member allegedly discussing bribery worth hundreds of thousands of ringgit, had met with graft busters at its headquarters on Oct 30 where they discussed about the purported evidence.
Azam had said that the officers were played a 17-second-long audio recording in which several people were heard having a conversation about money.
It was also reported that the whistleblower had sent a letter to the prime minister to seek his protection before lodging a report with the MACC.
In response, Anwar said, he did not receive any letters from any individuals seeking his assistance to grant them protection since he is away in Egypt.
He said that even if the letter is sent, it will be handed over to the MACC for further investigation.
"If I receive a letter (requesting protection), I will hand it over directly to the MACC... take the letter and examine it thoroughly for the next action," he said.