Zahid said he previously oversaw both departments when he was the home minister, during which he often heard about various accusations hurled against the agencies.

However, he said, it is unfair to blame the entire departments without investigating the allegations first.

“To ensure that such claims do not spread, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has taken the necessary steps to investigate the matter,” he told a press conference here today.

He said he supported Anwar’s push to weed out corrupt officers, and hoped that action would be taken if the allegations against them proved to be true.

“Otherwise, such claims should not be made randomly,” he said.

Yesterday, Anwar said some JPN employees were being investigated after they allegedly demanded payments to issue certain documents, including those for citizenship.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is also investigating allegations of corruption at KLIA involving the immigration department.

On Friday, tourism, arts and culture minister Tiong King Sing admitted to being at the centre of a commotion with immigration officers at KLIA, where he attempted to intervene over a Chinese national allegedly prohibited entry into Malaysia.

Tiong claimed his visit to the airport had exposed a “culture of corruption by a few officials, and the chronic abuse of power”.

He alleged that immigration officers were asking for as much as RM3,000 to release those travellers they had detained, and an additional RM3,000 if they wanted to return to their home country immediately.

An MACC source said today the agency was tracking down an individual who acted as an agent and allegedly solicited bribes amounting to RM18,000 to resolve such cases.

The source also said a minister and two Chinese nationals had their statements recorded over Friday’s incident.