Saravanan writes to PM Anwar on MACC charges!

KUALA LUMPUR: Amid reports that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is expected to file charges in the Kuala Lumpur Court on Friday (28 August 2026) against MIC Deputy President and Tapah Member of Parliament Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, a Malay-language letter dated August 24, 2026, written by Saravanan to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, has been widely circulating on social media.

Attached to the letter are Statutory Declarations executed by Syed Amirul, a key figure alleged to be involved in the foreign worker recruitment matter, and his wife. According to the attached declarations, both individuals solemnly affirmed that no financial transactions or direct communications regarding the matter occurred between them and Saravanan.

The letter further highlights that Syed Amirul unfortunately passed away on July 28, 2026.

Saravanan detailed these crucial facts in his official representation to Anwar Ibrahim. An English translation of the letter has also been released across social media platforms. The English version of the letter is as follows:

24 AUGUST 2026

YAB DATO’ SERI ANWAR BIN IBRAHIM
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Main Block, Perdana Putra Building,
Federal Government Administrative Centre,
62502 Putrajaya, Malaysia

Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri,

I am writing this letter with the utmost respect in response to the baseless charges made against me by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri, throughout my tenure as the Minister of Human Resources, neither I nor any of my family members were ever involved in the recruitment of foreign workers.

The Cabinet Meeting Minutes dated 13 April 2022 explicitly establish that the Minister of Human Resources holds no authority to approve foreign worker applications. Furthermore, the same Cabinet Meeting Minutes stipulated the establishment of a Multi-Ministerial One-Stop Centre (OSC) to expedite the recruitment of foreign workers.

My role was strictly confined to executing the foreign worker recruitment mandate based on three key drivers:

1.     The country was suffering billions of ringgit in losses due to severe foreign labour shortages
   (Appendix A).
2.     Persistent pressure and urgency expressed by the industrial sector (Appendix B).
3.     Directives from the Cabinet to expedite foreign worker recruitment, prompting the Secretary-
   General (KSU) of the Human Resources Ministry and the Director-General of the Human
   Resources  Department (KP JTK) to present updates at weekly Cabinet meetings and submit
   regular reports every week.

Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri, during my tenure as the Minister of Human Resources, all foreign worker applications were processed exclusively through the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS). Any company seeking to recruit foreign labour was required to apply through FWCMS, which automatically shortlisted eligible applicants for interviews.

Once selected by the system, the list was forwarded directly to the One-Stop Centre (OSC) under the Ministry of Human Resources (KSM). As Minister, I had no prior knowledge of or involvement with the specific companies applying or shortlisted for these interview sessions.

The core principle to emphasise is that unless a company was screened and verified by the FWCMS system, it was entirely ineligible to participate in interview sessions managed by KSM.

Specific Case Facts

(August 2022):

Two individuals (businessmen) were arrested in connection with the foreign worker recruitment process:

•        Syed Amirul: Did not hold a License C (foreign worker recruitment license) and was in good health at the time.
•        Siva Ganesan: Held a License C but was a chronically ill patient undergoing active dialysis treatment.

Both individuals were coerced into making involuntary statements intended to implicate my name at the behest of certain parties maliciously.

Syed Amirul was released after four days once he yielded to threats and agreed to implicate my name. A key factor in his compliance was MACC’s threat to arrest his wife (please refer to the Statutory Declarations of both the husband and the wife – Appendix C).

Conversely, Siva Ganesan was remanded for six days despite requiring dialysis treatment while in custody, solely because he refused to make statements implicating me. (He remains prepared to testify in court if required).

Upon his release on RM10,000 cash bail, Syed Amirul and his wife attempted to retract and rectify these defamatory statements. However, they were blocked from doing so by MACC officers.

Acting on their lawyer’s advice, Syed Amirul and his wife executed a Statutory Declaration before a Commissioner for Oaths on 22 September 2022, a copy of which was officially served on the MACC.

Following the retraction and clarification, the MACC returned the bail money on 26 June 2023 and confirmed that the matter was resolved, with no investigation initiated against me (Appendix D).

Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri,

Unexpectedly, in November 2025, more than four years later, Syed Amirul and his wife were summoned again for questioning on the same matter. Faced with this situation, they took a firm stance and submitted a subsequent Statutory Declaration reaffirming their 2022 statement (Appendix E).

Regrettably, Syed Amirul passed away on 28 July 2026.

Now, the MACC appears to be pursuing action against me despite the absence of the key witness.

Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri,

Between November 2025 and last month, I had several discussions with Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri as the Prime Minister, regarding this matter. During those discussions, Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri assured me that no action would be taken against me. Consequently, I am deeply dismayed that the MACC has abruptly initiated legal actions and investigations against me.

I wish to highlight to Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri that this case is completely groundless and ought to be discontinued immediately to safeguard the integrity of all parties involved.

Key Facts of the Case are as follows:

1. There has been no seizure of cash or material evidence linking me to this case.
2. I issued no directives to any government officials, and approval power was entirely outside my jurisdiction.
3. I do not know any of the applicants named in the charges, and at no point was there any communication between me and Syed Amirul or any other individuals involved.

I remain fully confident that Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri, as Head of Government, recognises that these actions constitute a form of unjustified victimisation driven by malicious motives within a government agency.

I deeply appreciate your concern and any appropriate action you may take in this matter.

Thank you.

 DATUK SERI M.SARAVANAN