The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy chief commissioner Mustafar Ali has urged the public not to politicise the photographs showing him with Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is currently being investigated by the anti-graft commission.

Mustafar said the photographs of him with Lim were taken at a programme before the issues of Taman Manggis and Lim's purchase of a bungalow in Penang were reported to the MACC.

"Don't politicise this. This programme was scheduled long before the investigations into the chief minister began.

"I attended it as a representative for the MACC chief commissioner, and also in attendance at that Corporate Integrity Pledge (CIP) event was the Penang Water Supply Corporation Holdings Berhad (PBAHB) board of directors and the Penang MACC director," he said to online portal BNBBC.my yesterday.

That programme, he said, had nothing to do with the MACC probe into Lim's involvement in the two issues.

Lim's attendance at that event was in his capacity as the chairperson of the PBAHB board of directors, he added.

Mustafar also assured that their presence at that event together would not affect the commission’s investigations into Lim.

MACC has earlier said it was planning to call Lim in to help complete its investigations in the two cases related to him.

The operations division said it was deciding on a suitable time to call Lim in for questioning, even as various parties have been pushing MACC to expedite their investigations against the Bagan MP.