Two senior City Hall officials have been arrested in connection with the distribution of a book that seeks to implicate the mayor, Datuk Ruslin Hassan.

"The allegations (in the book) were meant to undermine the credibility of the mayor. They disclosed information on some alleged wrongdoing with the intention of discrediting him," Assistant Commissioner Kamal Pasha Jamal, the police chief of Dang Wangi district here, said yesterday (Oct 27).

The mayor reportedly also initiated investigations into an unusual number of hawker permits that were issued recently, especially during the fasting month when special bazaars are set up throughout the city.

Two weeks ago, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) also arrested a son of the country's top police officer for illegally selling hawker permits, in an unrelated case.

The Straits Times learnt that Datuk Ruslin had introduced new rules to curb abuse and graft, following instructions from Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who has made the fight against corruption a major plank of his administration.

More than 700 copies of the book, printing plates and a manuscript were also seized by police from a printing press in Shah Alam near Kuala Lumpur.

Asst Commissioner Kamal said investigations so far showed that another five high-ranking officers could be involved in the plot against Datuk Ruslin.

Meanwhile, The Star reported that the author, a 41-year-old from the northern state of Kelantan, was arrested at his home on Wednesday (Oct 26) and has been remanded until Oct 29.

This is cache, read story here