A Malaysian minister has rubbished allegations that he had raped his Indonesian maid in 2007, terming them as heaps of "libellous statements and awful, ugly and wicked lies".
The allegations against information, communications and culture minister Rais Yatim were made by some local bloggers on the internet.
"I refute the allegations, whether they are about raping any individual four years ago or any other allegation, raised by bloggers on the internet or by any political entity," national news agency Bernama quoted him as saying.
He described the wild allegations against him in blog reports and by the opposition as "heaps of libellous statements and awful, ugly and wicked lies".
Mr Rais, who is Jelebu MP, also described the allegations as a dirty and evil political game by the opposition.
"The allegation of rape as published by the blogger has no connection whatsoever with the so-called WikiLeaks exposure," Bernama quoted him as saying.
"I state readily that any report by anyone so far related to this matter should be investigated under the country's laws," he said.
Mr Rais said he and his family members were prepared to extend their full cooperation in such an investigation, and would accept and comply with any outcome of the probe.
He said while the authorities conducted the probe, those indulging in "dirty politics" via the internet or other media should cease all speculation.
The alleged rape was reported by an Indonesian activist group in an internal report that was leaked and made its way into blog postings.