Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said wants action to be taken against civil servants, including retirees, who defame the government.

"Stern action must be taken on civil servants and ex-civil servants who attempt to use their position to make statements or act in a manner that can lead to slander or bad perception against the government.

"This is to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpretation (of information) from unverified sources," Azalina added in a Twitter posting.

Her remarks come in the wake of former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) special operations division director Bahri Mohd Zin's statement regarding his retirement.

Yesterday, Bahri told the media he opted for early retirement because he was frustrated that the SRC International Sdn Bhd case, which his team investigated, was not brought to court.

However, MACC later issued a statement denying Bahri had expressed disappointment and that his retirement was a personal choice.

Responding to this, Bahri told Malaysiakini he would issue an official statement soon, and cautioned others against making statements on his behalf.

Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan said not all cases investigated by MACC culminated in prosecution.

As for the SRC investigation, Rahman noted that attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali decided there were no grounds to bring the matter to court.

SRC, which was previously a subsidiary of 1MDB and is now under the Finance Ministry, came under the spotlight after RM42 million of its funds was found in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's personal bank account.

While MACC's 1MDB investigations were complex and involved many overseas jurisdictions - with the attorney-general refusing to issue a mutual legal assistance to the commission to work with foreign investigators - the SRC case was clear-cut as it involved mostly local entities.

The SRC money was deposited into Najib's accounts in two transactions - on Dec 26, 2014, and Feb 10, 2015 - after being routed through two companies, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd and Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd.

Najib has reportedly claimed to be unaware about the money from SRC, and the attorney-general cleared him of any wrongdoing.

The prime minister has also blamed the corruption allegations against him on those conspiring to topple him from power.