Following the letter of demand sent to a broadcasting company over the allegation of a bribe paid to prosecutors and the judiciary, Anwar Ibrahim and Karpal Singh have now sent similar letters to Umno leader Puad Zarkashi, Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times .

The letters dated yesterday contained a similar ultimatum - to publish a retraction and apology within seven days in their respective publications. Failure to do so would result in legal action.

This follows the publication of an article quoting Umno supreme council member Puad alleging that Anwar was trying to divert attention from his own problems by proposing a dialogue with Pakatan Rakyat and BN.

The former Batu Pahat MP was quoted in both dailies as saying that Anwar was worried that authorities were probing his bank accounts as a result of the alleged RM50 million payment in legal fees to Karpal since 2008.

This followed earlier reports quoting Umno Permatang Pauh candidate Mazlan Ismail that he received 6,000 letters alleging that the money was used to bribe judges and prosecutors.

Anwar and Karpal claimed that the two papers falsely and maliciously published the article which affected their reputations.

Yesterday, it was reported that separate letters of demand were given to Alt Media Sdn Bhd, following the airing of the issue on TV3's Buletin Utama .

Both Anwar and Karpal have denied the allegations and subsequently lodged police reports on the matter. They even urged the attorney-general and chief justice to investigate the claims to clear the air.

Mazlan, on the other hand, had lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over the matter.