The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested nine individuals, including two women, who gave bribes for the renewal of temporary work permits for foreign workers.

In a statement, MACC said the arrests were made possible by the commission's collaboration with MyEG Services Bhd (MyEG), which alerted MACC of possible bribery involved in the applications of permits online.

"When an application is done online, only the employer of the said foreign worker is allowed to collect the permit.

"However, the suspects, who functioned as agents, are believed to have extended bribes, of between RM50 and RM700 each to the officers responsible, to bypass the collection process without the employers' presence," said a source.

"The arrests were made during simultaneous operations in Selangor, Perak, Penang and Johor, about 11am today," added the source.

Three of the suspects were nabbed in Selangor, two in Penang, three in Johor and one in Perak.

All of them, aged between 33 and 50, will be investigated under Section 16(b)(A) of the MACC Act 2009.

MACC investigations director Simi Abdul Ghani confirmed the arrests and said the suspects would be remanded to facilitate investigations.