THE stand taken by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor to defend the historical narrative that Penang belonged to Kedah is not a criminal act, said a PAS lawmaker.
In his defence of Sanusi, state PAS commissioner Datuk Ahmad Yahaya pointed out that there is no merit to classify the matter as a seditious remark under the Sedition Act.
“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should not continue to politicise this issue. The criticism and pressures hurled at Kedah stemmed from Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) heavy defeat in the 15th General Election (GE15) last year,” Ahmad, who is also Pokok Sena MP, said.
“Kedah PAS wishes to stress that defending the historical narrative on Penang belonged to Kedah is not a criminal act. In fact, there is no merit to classify the action as a form of sedition under the Sedition Act.
“Kedah PAS wishes to express its full support for Sanusi’s statement. Kedah’s ownership over Penang is a historical fact that cannot be twisted and in fact strongly backed by researches.”
Ahmad said the Kedah government has over time demanded the rights of Penang’s leasing, resolution of the raw water charges and the approval for Kedah Aerotropolis.
“Unfortunately, all these demands are being neglected and derailed, unlike the prime minister who was quickly offended by the issue concerning Penang ownership issue today,” he said.
He further noted that Kedah PAS is also standing firm on the principle that the Penang-Kedah issue should not be compared to Sulu Sultanate heirs’ demand as well as the relationship between Kedah and Thailand.
“Kedah’s ownership over Penang that has been raised today has nothing to do with the sovereignty of the nation’s borders,” Ahmad stressed.
“As such, Kedah PAS is confidence that debating on historical facts is not a criminal offense. The fact is, there is a plot to carry out the character assassination of a person named Sanusi. They are more interested in bringing down the Kedah MB instead of debating about history.”
Bernama reported earlier that the police would be recording Sanusi’s statement over his claim that Penang belongs to Kedah today.
According to police secretary Datuk Noorsiah Saaduddin, the investigations are being conducted by Bukit Aman’s Classified Crime Investigation Unit (D5) under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Police have launched the probe following four police reports lodged against Sanusi pertaining to his statement on May 29 that Kedah and Penang do not have a border because Penang still belongs to Kedah, claiming further that Kedah only shares a border with Perak and Perlis. – June 7, 2023
Main pic credit: Utusan Malaysia
