KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar said he has not been called in by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) that arrested two of his aides this week.

At an event celebrating the Tamil new year today, the minister said he has not heard from the investigation on alleged corruption involving the quota for foreign worker recruitment in Malaysia.

"Not yet. If I am contacted, I will go voluntarily to provide my statement,” he said when asked about the matter.

Earlier, he said there were no further development since the MACC arrested his two aides separately, with the first detained on Thursday and the second, Sivakumar’s private secretary, yesterday.

When asked for fresh comments this evening, the minister only said he could not touch directly on the matter as the investigation was still active.

However, Sivakumar said he would support, on principle, any investigation that was conducted in the interests of truth and justice.

"I, along with the Human Resources Ministry, will always provide any cooperation to agencies conducting investigations related to the integrity of the ministry’s officers,” he said.

On Thursday, the MACC the arrested the first aide together with a recruitment agent on suspicion of corruption related to the quota to bring in migrant labourers into Malaysia.

Sivakumar’s private secretary was arrested the next day, with the MACC also securing orders allowing it to remand both individuals for further investigation.

The case could undermine the anti-corruption platform that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim chose as a cornerstone of his administration despite incorporating politicians still combating corruption charges.