Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz today ruled out an inquiry into graft and sexual assault allegations against the nation's top anti-corruption official, and dismissed calls for his suspension.

He said the accusations against the Anti-Corruption Agency director-general Zulkipli Mat Noor were a matter for the police.

"There is only one process in this country and the process is that you make a report to the police and the police investigate ... I think these NGOs are stupid," Nazri told AFP .

"We don't need another system, independent inquiry and all that," said the minister, whose portfolio includes legal affairs.

He was responding to calls from rights groups for an independent inquiry into the allegations against Zulkipli ( left ), a former police chief who has been summoned to appear before a parliamentary select committee on March 12.

"Unless he is charged in court, there is no need for him to be suspended from his post," he added.

The accusations were originally made in a report to police in July last year by a former ACA officer, Mohamad Ramli Manan, who said Zulkipli amassed properties disproportionate to his wealth and allegedly raped a woman.

Pressure mounts on Zulkipli

Pressure mounted on Zulkipli Thursday with reports saying police were probing allegations of corruption and sexual assault.

Zulkipli, who could not be reached for comment, has been quoted as saying past police investigations had cleared him.

Parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang has called for Zulkipli to be sacked for allegedly lying about the charges, which he said made Malaysia a "laughing stock".

But Nazri denied the accusations had damaged Malaysia's reputation or dented Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ongoing anti-corruption campaign.

"Allegations can be made against anybody," he said, adding there had also been claims against Abdullah as well as other ministers.

"Should we all be concerned because the allegations are made? I don't think so," he said.

Abdullah was elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2004 but critics say his efforts, and those of the ACA, have yielded few results.