IN THIS article, I will argue that Kedah Menteri Besar (MB) Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is a serious contender for the PAS presidency and perhaps even the post of Malaysia’s next Prime Minister come the 16th General Election (GE16).
PAS president Tan Sri Hadi Awang is outdated, old and sick. Bersatu president and Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is also outdated and will probably be too busy in court and prison. So siapa lagi yang hebat?
Yes, Malaysians, if the six state elections are swept by PAS, I predict Sanusi will be our PM.
Get used to the idea. In the latest episode of the Drama of Malaysia and election baiting issue, the sovereignty of Penang is under question. First it was water issues, now the whole state is under question.
We now have two-time former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad seemingly in sync with Sanusi in the Penang’s sovereignty issue. My question is, firstly, why are there no professors of the Federal Constitution and professors of Malaysian history of Malaysia coming forth with their statements?
Why are we led by unscrupulous politicians like Dr Mahathir and Sanusi in this issue? Is the country going to be held ransom to populist issues that have been accepted for six decades and even more?
There is no doubt Sanusi seems to be a political clown who – incredibly – will have nine lives in Malaysia’s politic. I have watched the Kedah MB for four years and I thought he was nothing more than a buffoon but this man now has proven that he understands Malay politics as once UMNO did.
Even though he is from PAS but now that party is using every UMNO trick in the book to get all the Malay votes they can muster. Sanusi knows that he won’t get a single non-Malay vote and so he is using a time-tested UMNO game book to get re-elected.
The first and most important rule of the game in Malay politics is to make Chinese the enemy. Come to think of it, also make orang India the enemy. If Kedah has Dayak, Murut and Kadazan, make them also the enemy.
Make all non-Muslim the enemy. Sanusi’s first act was to destroy an Indian shrine. He did not bat an eye and just ‘whack’ the idol without any care in the world. Forget Madani politics, this is Melayu Islam politics!
Sanusi learns Mahathir’s trade
Sanusi is kurang ajar enough, samseng enough, and loud enough to be a “great Malay leader”. Melayu Islam politics is simple: non-Muslims and non-Malays are kafir and they are the enemies.
Forget democracy and the rakyat as the owners of the country. Just shout at the top of your lungs that the enemy is within and it is kurang ajar of them putting idols and tokong wherever they please. Sanusi then threatened to tear down all unregistered shrines and tokong.
Secondly, Sanusi uses water as a rallying cry to get the Malays to see all Penangites as penumpang haram. The water from Kedah River belongs to Kedah and if Penang wants it, they must pay big money.
This samseng tactic sounds very much a Mahathirian style in dealing with Singapore’s water issue. It is brilliant. Sanusi is not a buffoon but a shrewd Mahathir disciple. P.Ramlee would say “kepala hotak dia bagus dan geliga!”
Third, Sanusi has introduced his master plan to develop Kedah through all sorts of fantastic projects. In politics, you don’t have to show proof of anything as long as people want to believe you.
Politics is just like religious faith. You just have to accept the ustaz and whatever he says or else you have to spend many years reading and studying many books and reports.
Which do you want? Most Malays would just trust somebody who looks important and credible.
Who does the Malay find credible as a leader? Simple, the Malay who shouts loudly about defending Malays and Islam against the rich Cina, India and everyone else!
Fourth and the grand finale, Sanusi now claims that Penang belongs to Kedah. This is another page from the Mahathir book of election tactics. Dr Mahathir must be kicking himself why he did not think of this in his Proklamasi Melayu!
Eventually, Sanusi will lose his court case of trying to wrestle Penang but he would already have won the moral victory and soon an election victory.
To me, Sanusi shows more courage and is more daring than Muhyiddin and Hadi Awang put together. Move over-lah Hadi and let Sanusi be the new PAS president. None of the smooth-talking PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man or its secretary-geenral Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.
Sanusi is the man! Thus, ladies and gentle Malaysians, this is how you win an election in Malaysia. Be loud, be kurang ajar, be courageous and above all …get noticed!!
No need for research, no need for history and no need for lawyers and legal mumbo jumbo. Create mistrust between the Malays and others. Create hatred between the Malays and non-Muslims.
Create fantastic claims without an iota of academic basis as long as it sounds nice. The professors in universities will never be courageous enough to engage in a public discourse anyway.
Apparently, it isn’t hard to win elections and become Menteri Besar in this country. I think Sanusi will be a contender for PMXI after this. Sanusi is kurang ajar enough, samseng enough, and loud enough to be a “great Malay leader”.
Move over Hadi, Muhyiddin and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The big man is here! – June 12, 2023
Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at a local university and his writing reflects his own personal opinion entirely. This opinion editorial first appeared in Sin Chew Daily (English version) under the headline “Sanusi Kedah for PAS president and … future PM?”
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
