LAWYER Mansoor Saat said he will not return to the country if he is continued to be persecuted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as part of a political plot.

He said he is perplexed as to why MACC is seeking police assistance to locate him.

“This is in bad taste and is totally unnecessary,” he said in a statement.

“It serves to reinforce my belief that there is an ongoing effort at smearing and assassinating characters and reputations, including mine.

“I will return to Malaysia to face prosecution if any, but I will not do so as long as I am being persecuted.”

MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki has said Muhyiddin Yassin’s son-in-law Muhammad Adlan Berhan, 48, and Mansoor, 69, were required to appear before the commission for questioning over alleged corruption and embezzlement in the registration, recruitment and biometric storage of foreign workers in a ministry.

He said the two men left the country on May 17 and 21 respectively and there was no record of them returning.

“We suspect Adlan is in a particular country, but we cannot disclose which country it is,” he said.

Mansoor said he is not a fugitive but MACC has sought to cast aspersions on his integrity.

“My leaving the country, which was done lawfully, is being turned against me as a sign of guilty conduct,” he said.

“I reject that false narrative with all the forces at my disposal.”

He asserted his right to fairness and condemned any attempt by MACC to use the media to influence public opinion of himself or any other persons as being guilty of some offence and in the process to shore up its flagging reputation or to appease the political dispensation.

“I’m saddened that MACC is being weaponised in such deplorable fashion,” he said.

“I have full faith in our judicial system to protect my constitutional rights.”

Mansoor said he in consultation with his lawyers on the MACC statement as well as his next course of action, including suing the agency for abuse of power and misfeasance in public office. – August 17, 2023.