PARIT BUNTAR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can forgive anyone who had treated him harshly when he was being detained and jailed, but had no right to forgive those who take away the people's rights.
The prime minister said he would ensure that anyone who abuses their power and position, including those with family ties with influential individuals caught stealing the rights of the people, would continue to be arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned.
Although Anwar did not mention any names, it is understood that he was referring to former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's son-in-law, Datuk Muhammad Adlan Berhan, who is being tracked down by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for alleged corrupt activities.
"Now, the MACC is looking for the son-in-law of a former prime minister.
"Imagine, you take hundreds of millions of ringgit and MACC wants to investigate you before being called to the court. Then you use this money to run away… meanwhile, your family (member) is being portrayed as the candidate for prime minister.
"When you have the power, you took land, timber, stocks, and you gave contracts (through direct negotiations). You took away the rights of the people…I have no right to forgive you, and I will hunt you down, arrest, charge, and put you in prison."
Anwar said this when speaking to a crowd of thousands at the state-level Majlis Sentuhan Agromadani here, today.
Also present was Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, and Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.
It was reported yesterday that the MACC was tracking down two men, including Adlan, to assist in its investigation of the corruption and embezzlement case in the registration, recruitment and biometric storage of foreign workers in a ministry.
MACC said it had tried to contact the two men, one a businessman and another a lawyer directly and through their lawyers. However, both have refused to cooperate.
In February, the MACC had said it was investigating a former prime minister and his son-in-law about a lucrative government contract.
Muhyiddin had strongly denied any involvement in the awarding of the contract to a company supposedly linked to his son-law, describing the report as a "malicious lie".