PAKATAN Harapan has won, there is no need to attack its rivals any more, Anwar Ibrahim said today.

The PH de facto leader said the focus for PH now was to work for the people and not make the same mistakes that had caused Barisan Nasional (BN) to be booted out.

“Avoid extravagance, corruption… all those things we had criticised others for in the past.

“That is our duty and the people are watching us now,” he told reporters at a buka puasa event at the An Nahdhoh Foundation in Permatang Pauh this evening.

Anwar said he was cautioning PH to honour its commitment to the people, who are more critical now.

“The transformation has been phenomenal and systemic. Now we see a freer media and society becoming more critical. They must anticipate that this more concerned and conscious public will assess us.

“Things now are unlike what they were in the previous regime, when everything was controlled. We are now closely monitored.”

Although the new government should focus on work and not look for revenge, Anwar said it did not mean those who had broken the law should be left alone either.

“If there are those who have taken hundreds of millions of ringgit, don’t tell me we won’t go after them?

“We will respect the rule of law, not do as we like. Vengeance is a sickness of the heart,” he said.

The PH government is now going after former prime minister Najib Razak for money laundering in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.

After days of raiding Najib’s home and premises linked to him, police found RM114 million in cash, hundreds of designer handbags, jewellery and other luxury items.

Asked how he felt about being home in Permatang Pauh after being released from jail, Anwar said he was very happy to see his old friends and supporters.

He said the love and support from the people in the parliamentary seat he held from 1982 to 1999, and again from 2008 to 2015 had remained very strong.

“The reception is extraordinary. I am very thankful,” he said, adding that he was grateful the people supported PH candidates fielded in Permatang Pauh in GE14.

The new Permatang Pauh MP is his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar. All the three state seats in Permatang Pauh – Penanti, Seberang Jaya and Permatang Pasir – were also won by PH.

On when he will be back for the coming Hari Raya celebration next month, Anwar joked: “I will be home but I have to check with the deputy prime minister. I have to follow her schedule.”

Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is his wife. – May 25, 2018.