DEPUTY Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi does not deny the existence of “bad apples” at the National Registration Department (NRD) and Immigration Department, which tarnish their image.

He told at a press conference after chairing the National Action Council on Cost of Living Implementation Monitoring Committee meeting today that this group must be eliminated as their actions often led to false accusations being hurled at their respective departments.

Zahid, who once led the Home Ministry, said it was inappropriate and unfair to make random accusations against the two departments without a detailed investigation.

“I used to be at the ministry, and these two departments received a lot of random accusations. To avoid this, the prime minister (Anwar Ibrahim) has called for an investigation to be carried out,” he said.

“It would be fair if a probe could be conducted. If it is true, then it must be corrected. If not, they must explain.”

However, Zahid said, what is important now is to have effective measures to weed out these troublemakers.

Yesterday, Anwar said some NRD and Immigration personnel are under investigation for suspected corruption and abuse of power. – Bernama, July 4, 2023.