“If we were to allow that, what would become of our nation?” he said after meeting agencies and departments under the ministry as well as the media here this evening.

Saifuddin said only the police had the authority to go after wrongdoers.

He was asked to comment on concerns raised by the likes of Lawyers for Liberty and the G25 group of prominent former civil servants over vigilante groups who went after two private citizens who made comments on social media in relation to the “Allah” socks issue.

Saifuddin cited an incident in which a motorist was beaten to death by a group of people last month.

In the incident, he said, the 41-year-old victim was pulled out of his car and assaulted after an accident in Kajang. Five people have since been charged with murder.

He said matters like this should be dealt with by the police.

“If we allow people to take matters into their own hands, then there will be a free-for-all,” he said.

Asked if the authorities would go after the vigilantes, Saifuddin said the police will carry out their duties.

Yesterday, G25 said the authorities must take swift action against the vigilante groups who unlawfully intimidated two men – Chiok Wai Loong and Ricky Shane Cagampang – separately, forcing them to confess to comments they made online.

The pair have since been jailed and fined over their postings.

Two separate groups had uncovered the addresses of Chiok and Ricky  and confronted them over their Facebook comments on the socks issue.

The pair later pleaded guilty to charges under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 over their postings, with Chiok and Ricky sentenced to six months in prison and fined RM12,000 and RM15,000, respectively.

LFL said failure to act against such groups would encourage mob justice.

The controversy arose after photographs of the socks, sold at KK Mart’s Bandar Sunway store, appeared on social media last Wednesday, earning the ire of the Muslim community and sparking calls for a boycott.

On the controversy surrounding the socks, Saifuddin said the government did not want to prolong the issue as there were other matters it wanted to focus on such as the economy.

“Yes, the ‘Allah’ socks is a huge issue, but we need to move on now that action has been taken.

“It’s time we let the law take its course. We want to move on and not be at loggerheads on the same issue.”