THE family of the female student who went viral on social media after Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor had swatted her head with a piece of paper has urged the public to not sensationalise the matter any further.
According to TikTok user MCSyalwa, who is believed to be the mother of the student, said the family did not have an issue with the incident.
“Enough is enough. Just live in harmony. Why must you sensationalise something that is not true?” she said on TikTok yesterday (Aug 22) following the incident on Saturday (Aug 19).
“We, the parents and the child (involved in the matter) don’t have any issues about it. The MB is all right and entertained us even though he was tired after cycling.”
That day, Sanusi had cycled in Kampung Budi, Pokok Sena, and handed out cash aid and necessities to 60 hardcore poor villagers.
Commenting on the video on Sinar Harian’s TikTok account, the woman said Sanusi did not have to apologise to the family and her family was all right.
“Nothing’s hurt, nothing is broken. We were just joking with each other. You just had to make an issue about it,” she remarked.
Earlier this week, the Jeneri state assemblyman was criticised for swatting the young woman’s head with a folded piece of paper after she had approached him on Aug 19.
The incident had drawn laughter from the crowd who treated it like a normal joke.
MUDA deputy president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz, in a tweet responding to the videoclip, noted that even if Sanusi was just fooling around, he should be respectful, adding that if he wants to joke around, he should still mind his manners.
“[This is] especially for top leaders like a menteri besar. When a top leader does something, the supporters will follow. Don’t normalise everything as a joke,” she added.
Sanusi had since then spoken out in defence of his action, saying the incident was just a joking way to reprimand the student for being tardy.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, he said he had swatted (lepuk) the young woman with a piece of paper and not a piece of wood, and that he was just “joking around with youths” which is how “us kampung folks fool around”.
“The youth wanted to enter polytechnic the next day (Sunday), but only gave a letter asking for aid on that day (Saturday), so she got swatted,” he explained to the news portal.
“But she was still given RM650 to buy things for her to start off in polytechnic.” – Aug 23, 2023
