More high-profile suspects may come to court in Malaysia's corruption crackdown that has seen a cabinet minister and a tycoon charged with graft in the last five days, Malaysia's law minister said in remarks published today.

At least another 18 cases involving "high-ranking individuals and decision makers" were awaiting further action, Rais Yatim told The Star newspaper.

"The attorney-general's chambers is looking into some of them for prosecution while there are others which cannot proceed due to lack of evidence," he said.

Malaysia's political and business communities were rocked this week by the arrests of Lands and Cooperative Development Minister Kasitah Gaddam and tycoon Eric Chia as new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi acted on his pledge to crack down on corruption.

Both cases date back to the period when former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in power, and the arrests have been welcomed by opposition parties and analysts as a sign that Abdullah is serious about tackling graft.

Critic caution

Kasitah pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption over share transactions involving millions of dollars in 1996 when he was chairman of the state-owned Sabah Land Development Board.

Chia denied charges of embezzling RM76.4 million (US$20.1 million) when he was head of troubled steel giant Perwaja in 1994.

Abdullah, who took over the premiership on October 31 when Mahathir stepped down after 22 years in office, has repeatedly declared the fight against corruption to be a priority for his new administration.

But while the arrests have been widely applauded, some government critics have cautioned that it remained to be seen whether other more powerful ministers under suspicion would receive the same treatment.

Democratic Action Party chairman Lim Kit Siang conceded that "we are now going into new waters", but described Kasitah as a cabinet "lightweight". - AFP