Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has denied that Prime Minister Najib Razak ordered the arrest of Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) president Mohd Shafie Apdal.

"No such thing," he said when asked to comment on Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad's accusation that the prime minister was behind the Sabah politician's Oct 19 arrest.

Ismail Sabri also denied that MACC's operation in Sabah was aimed at crippling Warisan ahead of the next general election.

"MACC is an independent body that will probe whoever it wants. I am confident it has no political agenda," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

Unlike the opposition, the minister said Umno never complained when its leaders are investigated, arrested or prosecuted.

"When former Johor exco (Abdul Latif Bandi) was arrested, we never cried 'unfair' and claimed it was a (political) agenda. When it is the opposition's turn, they say we have an agenda.

"You have to be fair to us," he added.

Ismail Sabri added that several Umno leaders have also been arrested in the sweep, and pointed to the party still being in operation despite losing its then deputy president Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 to sodomy and corruption charges.

"Leaders come and go. Nobody is above the law," he said.

"As for why MACC acted now and not before, it is not up to us (the government) to decide, MACC made the call.

“Well, nobody is ever right according to Mahathir (Mohamad)," he said, referring to the chairperson of the opposition coalition.

MACC is probing RM1.5 billion allegedly siphoned from funds earmarked for rural development projects in Sabah.

Besides Shafie, MACC has also arrested two of his brothers, and a number of Warisan and Umno leaders to assist in investigations.