Anifah, who is the division’s chief, also denied any involvement in the case, arguing that as the foreign minister there was nothing he could offer to anyone.

Neither did he control the funds for the water department in Sabah.

“It is best to know where the funds are coming from and who has the power to approve them.

“So my fellow Sabahans, I can proudly say to you that not only am I not involved but I did not know these funds or projects existed,” he said in a short statement.

The Kimanis lawmaker was responding to allegations that have been swirling around social media that the top official had links to Umno.

Among those who made the allegation included former Gopeng Umno Wanita Chief Hamidah Osman. She has since deleted her blogpost on the matter.

Blogger Lim Sian See, in a Facebook post, revealed that the Kimanis Umno tresurer was in fact Rizal @ Raymond Godfrey Abdullah.

Anifah went on to say that he would take legal action against those who attempted to defame him as he did not want the public to think that Malaysia’s foreign minister was corrupt.

“And more importantly to clear my name.”

On Wednesday, cash and assets worth RM114.5 million were seized by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission following the arrest of four men in Sabah.

The four men, including two Sabah Water Department senior officers, are being investigated for allegedly receiving kickbacks from federal projects in Sabah. The projects are said to be worth up to RM3.3 billion.