Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said he would be filing an application in court this week to seek a declaration on the Selangor government directive on meeting with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim had issued the directive to all state representatives to meet with MACC officers only at the state secretariat and during office hours.

Abdul Gani said that he wanted the court to interpret if the directive was against the country's laws.

lingam tape panel meeting 031007 abdul gani patail "The MACC's functions are governed by certain laws so this directive is purely an administrative direction and I have decided with my colleagues that within this week we will file an application to declare it null and void," he told reporters today.

Speaking at the same function, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said that the directive was not legally binding.

"I have told the MACC that its officers should carry out their work without fear or favour and not allow anyone to intimidate them while they are carrying out their duties.

"I have also asked the Attorney-General to make doubly sure (the validity of the directive by Khalid) from a legal standpoint," he was quoted as saying by The Star Online .

The circular was put out by Khalid following the death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock on July 15, after being summoned by the MACC to its Selangor headquarters in Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam.

Teoh's body was found on the fifth floor balcony of the adjacent building the next day.

Khalid then directed that the MACC could only question anyone during office hours and at the state secretariat.

Since then several other politicians and their aides from Selangor have refused to attend any questioning held at the MACC office.

Carry on with your job, MACC told

In another development the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board called on the MACC to continue its investigations into corruption cases regardless of the status or background of the individuals involved, reported Bernama .

Its chairperson Abdul Hamid Mohamad said the board opined that MACC had the legal obligation to combat corruption efficiently and effectively.

"The board, which is established under anti-corruption laws, has the responsibility to ensure that MACC will continue to discharge its duties in an independent, transparent, effective and professional manner to combat corruption, besides ensuring that justice is done to all parties involved," he said in a statement today.

On Saturday, MACC investigation director Shukri Abdull was reported as saying that the commission would stop investigating politicians indefinitely as the commission was being slammed by various parties on the way it conducted investigations.

Shukri made the remarks after the MACC was accused of acting aggressively in the arrest of Wong Chuan How, an aide to Selangor state executive councillor Ronnie Liu, in Sungai Pelek on Friday.

Abdul Hamid also said the board, in its meeting today, had thoroughly discussed the remarks made by Shukri.