KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27—The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has no basis to threaten legal action against Lim Guan Eng for claiming the detention of a Penang exco was illegal, said Ramkarpal Singh.

The Bukit Gelugor MP said the DAP secretary-general was only citing remarks made by a High Court judge who cancelled a remand order the MACC had secured for Phee Boon Poh and two others.

"Further, it is obvious that [Lim] was not saying that the arrest of the said trio was illegal since he did not use the words ‘penangkapan haram’,” he said in a statement,

"In other words, it is clear that [Lim] was referring to the continued detention of the said trio 24 hours after their arrest by the MACC which was clearly based on an invalid order.”

Ramkarpal also rejected the commission’s assertion that remarks about Phee’s case was tantamount to sub judice, saying the MACC’s planned appeal against his release was yet to materialise in court.

The MACC should also be investigating how information regarding Phee’s case was leaked to the public instead of using its resources to pursue Lim and others for commenting on its cases and investigations, he added.

The MACC on Friday demanded Lim apologise for calling Phee’s detention "illegal”, saying it may pursue the matter using either criminal or civil law.

Phee, a factory manager, and director were arrested by MACC to assist investigations into an illegal carbon filter factory in Penang earlier this month, but were later released.