In the wake of Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad casting aspersions on his wealth, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has declared that he is free of corruption.

Zahid, who also oversees the home affairs portfolio, said all departments within his ministry are clean as well.

"I, the Home Ministry and all departments within it are free from corruption.

"It isn't easy to ensure that we and our associates are free of corruption, but this is possible if we have high morals," Zahid told a function in Putrajaya this morning.

Zahid was speaking after witnessing Immigration Department director-general Mustafar Ali and more than 400 officers taking the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) anti-corruption pledge (IBR) at the Immigration Department headquarters.

Last week, Mahathir claimed that Zahid failed to provide clear answers on the RM230 million in his bank account when declaring his assets to the former prime minister in 1996.

The deputy prime minister has maintained that he acquired his wealth during his tenure in the corporate sector.

In his speech, Zahid used a “fishy” analogy to discuss the public’s perception towards MACC.

“Before this the people thought the ones who were caught (by the MACC) were ikan bilis (anchovies), while the ikan paus (whales) got away scot-free.

“But now, even the whales are caught in MACC’s net. Every day the commission makes arrests and drags people to court.

“MACC has given a new image to the fight against corruption in this country….even though there are those who will always find fault with anything the government does,” he said, taking a dig at the opposition.

Earlier today, top Pakatan Harapan leaders had marched to the new MACC headquarters to demand it open investigations into 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) or risk being rendered "meaningless". 

The deputy prime minister proceeded to praise Mustafar.

“I remember a time when the Immigration Department was the “champion” of corruption perception indices, for being the worst (in the rankings). 

“But with Mustafar leading it, it is impossible (for this to happen again) because he is committed to fight this,” he said.

Joining him was MACC deputy chief commissioner Azam Baki, who reminisced about the time when he and Mustafar were colleagues.

“I have known Mustafar for a long time, he was my ex-boss at MACC. When I see him in the Immigration uniform, I get a little jealous.

“But he has brought a lot of change to the Immigration Department since he took over in 2016,” he said.

The changes, he said, included drafting the department’s Strategic Plan for 2015-2020, implementing migrant worker legalisation schemes, setting up an online portal for corruption complaints and moving immigration procedures online to reduce the chance of corruption.

Pledge taken by immigration departments worldwide

Aside from the immigration officers in the room, Mustafar announced that immigration departments from other Malaysian states as well as from Perth, Islamabad, Dhaka, New York, London, Beijing, Jeddah, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Chennai and Singapore had also participated in the pledge-taking ceremony through Skype.

“Video conferencing with overseas immigration departments shows our commitment to combating corruption. The IBR is a reminder to us to practice integrity in our line of work.

“While I admit it’s hard to achieve sifar rasuah (zero corruption) in the department, adopting a zero tolerance attitude towards corruption can be done starting now,” said Mustafar. 

He later led all officers in reciting the pledge before signing a copy of it with Azam. The signing was witnessed by Zahid and deputy home ministers Nur Jazlan Mohamed and Masir Kujat.