In a Facebook post, the former federal minister said the opposition should support efforts by Anwar and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki to eliminate corruption within the civil service.

“You may not like the prime minister, but you should not (reject) his efforts to save the country from the cancer of corruption,” he said.

“You should not (reject) something that is good for the nation.”

Salleh, who was communications and multimedia minister from 2015 to 2018, also claimed opposition leaders were prioritising political agendas over national interests as they seemed not to care about efforts to eradicate corruption.

Early in his tenure as prime minister, Anwar warned the “small segment” of civil servants persisting in their “irresponsible corrupt ways” that they would be dealt with severely.

He also said the government was looking to recover some of the billions of ringgit “squandered” by former leaders.

Anwar added that he would empower enforcement agencies to combat corruption, including monitoring the expenses of GLCs.