“He (Rafizi) hides behind (phrases such as) ‘I am made to understand’, ‘I was informed’, ‘someone told me’… These are words against which, from a legal standpoint, no action can be taken,” Tuan Ibrahim was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

“There may be other aspects that we have to look at, but I want to emphasise that this is slander. That’s why I am asking (him) to lodge a report if he has any evidence,” he said in a speech in Cheka, Pahang, last night.

Tuan Ibrahim explained that the government, which is currently operating on a caretaker basis, could not approve any financial allocation as it was against a Treasury circular.

He also noted that Chief Secretary Zuki Ali had clearly stated that the Cabinet did not have the right to make any policy decision as Parliament had been dissolved.

“I want to stress that I never approved allocations for any project after Parliament was dissolved,” he said.

Yesterday, Rafizi claimed he had received information that Tuan Ibrahim was in the process of awarding a RM2 billion flood mitigation project to an Umno-linked company.

He claimed that the project, which is related to a flood barrier at Sungai Langat, was the second contract awarded to the same company in the past six months.

Referring to a circular from the finance ministry dated Oct 18, Rafizi pointed out that the caretaker government and its agencies should not be involved in any contractual commitments or undertakings until after the general election.

In a statement today, the environment and water ministry said all procurement processes and negotiations with contractors were suspended as soon as Parliament was dissolved on Oct 10.