Saravanan writes to PM, unhappy over MACC’s baseless allegations

SHAH ALAM - Tapah MP Datuk Seri M Saravanan is unhappy over baseless allegations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) linking him to the foreign worker recruitment process.

The former Human Resources Minister said he was never personally involved in foreign worker recruitment, nor were any of his family members, throughout his time in the post.

He said a Cabinet memo dated Apr 13, 2022 also clarified that the Human Resources Minister has no power to approve foreign worker recruitmentand that a special one-stop centre (OSC) involving various ministries would be set up to speed up the recruitment process.

“During my time as Human Resources Minister, all applications for foreign worker recruitment were made through the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS).

“Any company wishing to recruit foreign workers could only apply through the system, before the selection of eligible companies to attend interview sessions was made automatically,” he said in a letter sent to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Saravanan said once the system made its selections, the list would be forwarded to the OSC under the Human Resources Ministry.

“As minister, I had no knowledge whatsoever of the companies that applied and were selected to attend the interview sessions,” he said.

He said the key fact in the case was that the companies involved were not eligible to handle foreign worker recruitment interviews at ministeriallevel unless they went through the FWCMS screening.

Saravanan also claimed that two individuals, Syed Amirul and Siva Ganesan, who were detained in August 2022 over the foreign worker recruitment process, were forced to make confessions against their will solely to link his name to the case.

He said although the case had previously been closed without any investigation against him, the same issue had been raised again despite Syed Amirul having died on Jul 28, 2026.

“MACC now appears to be trying to proceed with action against me at a time when the key witness no longer exists,” he said.

He added that he had held several discussions with the Prime Minister since November 2025 over the matter and had been assured that no action would be taken against him.

However, he was deeply unhappy that MACC had suddenly begun legal proceedings or an investigation against him.

“This case is clearly baseless and should be halted immediately to safeguard the integrity of all parties involved,” he added.

He said other key facts in the case included that no cash or material evidence had been seized linking him to it, and that he had never issued any instructions to any government officer.

He also stressed that the power to approve foreign worker recruitment was never in his hands and that he did not know any of the applicants named in the charges.

Saravanan said throughout the process, there was also no communication whatsoever between him and Syed Amirul or any other individual linked to the case.

He therefore believes the Prime Minister, as head of government, is well aware and conscious that the action taken against him amounts to persecution with malicious intent on the part of the government agency involved.