Life can be very tough for those who chose to become whistleblowers for whatever reason - just as former Sabah ACA chief Mohamad Ramli Manan discovered today.

He is the whistleblower who disclosed several serious allegations against his former boss, ACA director-general Zulkipli Mat Noor. His revelations have put both the 'accused' and the 'accuser' in the media spotlight over the past few days.

Ramli claimed today that there were attempts to discredit him, pointing to a report published in the Star today which he described as "defamatory".

The report quoted an unnamed official as saying that Ramli was investigated at the departmental level for being absent from work without official leave prior to his retirement.

"I have sent a legal letter to Star demanding for an apology. The report is defamatory. I have never been investigated, this is malicious," Ramli told malaysiakini .

The two-page letter was sent through Seremban-based law firm Munjeet Singh & Co. The firm confirmed the letter was sent to Star this morning.

Elaborating, Ramli said he has no clue why and who hurled the accusation at him but he challenged the source quoted in the report to reveal his or her identity.

"There are attempts to tarnish my reputation and make my life difficult," he added.

No personal differences

According to the report, Ramli's case has been referred to the Public Services Commission and added that Ramli would not get his pension pending a decision from the commission. He retired on Dec 8 last year.

The report also quoted other sources as saying that Ramli was transferred from Sabah to the headquarters in Putrajaya before his retirement but he was given non-operations duty there.

Meanwhile, Ramli said he does not have any personal differences with Zulkipli.

"I don't know him. I only met him face-to-face for 15 minutes during a courtesy call following his appointment as the ACA chief in 2001," he added.

Ramli reiterated that he chose to go on record and reveal the allegations against Zulkipli as an act of a loyal citizen and a responsible ACA officer.

Both Ramli and Zulkipli have been called to testify before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity on March 12.

The ACA chief landed in the media spotlight on Monday following the disclosure of the report penned by Ramli last year addressed to then police chief Mohd Bakri Omar.

The report contained several explosive allegations against Zulkipli, ranging from corruption practices to sexual crimes.

Zulkipli has dismissed all the allegations as "baseless" while attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail said Zulkipli had been cleared from the sexual crime after an investigation in 1997.

Police investigation into corruption charges against Zulkipli are underway currently with the police checking into records of his asset declaration.

Pressures have mounted on Zulkipli to be suspended pending investigation but an influential government minister has shot down the possibility, saying anyone is innocent until proven guilty.

Attempts to contact Star group chief editor Michael Aeria for his comments on the paper's report were unsuccessful.