PARLIAMENTARY opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has disputed official accounts of why caretaker Kedah menteri besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor had to be arrested at 3am yesterday (July 18).
In a video posted on Hamzah’s Facebook page, he said Sanusi was always accompanied by a bodyguard who is a police officer.
Hamzah questioned why the police couldn’t reach Sanusi when he always had police personnel serving as his bodyguard, suggesting that the police could have contacted the bodyguard to locate him.
“Isn’t it strange that the police said they cannot reach Sanusi? It does not make sense because the police have one of their personnel serving the menteri besar as a bodyguard. The police could have asked the bodyguard and found out where he was at any time,” claimed the Larut MP.
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain yesterday stated that the police had made several unsuccessful attempts to inform Sanusi about his court appearance slated for 9am before resorting to his arrest at 3am to face charges of sedition at an apartment in Kuala Lumpur.
Moreover, Hamzah speculated that the late-night arrest might have been orchestrated to embarrass Sanusi due to his prominent position within Perikatan Nasional.
He then insinuated that a “prominent government leader” had once been convicted of abuse of power for personal gain.
“I’m not making accusations. I’m saying this can happen and it has happened before. It is not impossible for this to happen again,” he added.
In 1999, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was convicted of abuse of power for ordering the police to harass two alleged witnesses. The PKR leader was handed a six-year sentence. In 2018, he secured a pardon for this and other cases. – July 19, 2023
