THE police had to arrest Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor at his hotel at 3am on Tuesday (July 18) because the caretaker Kedah menteri besar had refused to cooperate and surrender himself, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The police had tried to reach Sanusi but he had refused to cooperate with them and had told them that he would not present himself at the police station if they were going to arrest him, Berita Harian reported Saifuddin as saying.
“Sanusi said I’m not doing my job. I’m overseeing the immigration department, the national registration department, and the police,” the news portal quoted the PKR secretary-general as saying at the Suka Menanti Jelajah Madani ceramah in Alor Setar, Kedah last night (July 19).
“But when the police were trying to do their job, Sanusi got angry. He said he had been in contact with the police between 10pm and 2am.
“The police requested for Sanusi to come to the police station but he refused. He said if they were going to arrest him, then he would not go (to them).”
Yesterday, the PAS election director had denied Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain’s claim that the police were unable to reach him or his aides, which later led to his arrest on early Tuesday morning.
Speaking at a press conference, Sanusi had insisted that he had been in touch with the police since Monday night and that he had screenshots of his WhatsApp conversations with the police which he had requested that a high-ranking police officer to send to Razarudin.
On July 18, Razarudin explained that Sanusi was arrested after he had ignored the calls made by the police, adding that the calls were made after the police had received instructions on the charges involving Sanusi from the Attorney-General’s Chambers the day before.
Razarudin said numerous calls to Sanusi and his aides to inform him to be present in court had been “rejected”, and Sanusi was arrested to “ensure that he attended court to hear the charges against him”.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin had also proposed revoking Sanusi’s honorary military title for his alleged insult against Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
Sanusi was appointed as an honorary first admiral of the Royal Malaysian Navy Volunteer Reserve in 2021, but Saifuddin pointed out that the sultan is the captain-in-chief of the entire navy.
“Sanusi has an honorary (rank); he is not in the navy, but he has an honorary (rank). The Selangor sultan is its chief,” Saifuddin said at the same event.
“Suddenly he has gone to insult his majesty, so I believe it is time for the Armed Forces Council to review Sanusi’s honorary privileges because perhaps it’s time to revoke it. Revoke it for disrespecting the Selangor sultan.”
During a ceramah on July 11, Sanusi had allegedly said the Kedah sultanate was the only one in the country with uninterrupted lineage and that the Kedah ruler would not have appointed Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari as menteri besar to head Selangor’s administration.
This was seen as an insult to the Selangor ruler, which then prompted a complaint by the Selangor Royal Council.
Sanusi’s subsequent apology and claims that his speech had been taken out of context by his rivals had failed to appease the sultan.
On Tuesday, Sanusi was charged with sedition for his remarks and faces a separate sedition charge for his remarks about the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He has claimed trial to both charges. – July 20, 2023
