Politicians in the state have been urged to cooperate with the police to facilitate investigations into recent cases of defamation.

Penang police chief Datuk Ayub Yaakob said between January and March this year, the police received 19 reports on defamation involving politicians.

He said the police could not carry out investigations quickly because some quarters had refused to give complete statements and instead, the police were labelled as being unprofessional.

"The politicians involved need not worry about their statements being taken...if Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng can do so, why not the others?," he asked when speaking to reporters in Penang today. - Bernama