Sanusi says he was misquoted over Penang statement

PETALING JAYA: Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor (pic) has refuted claims that he requested an amendment to the Constitution over his assertion that Penang belongs to Kedah.He said his statement merely called for an increase in the lease payment from Penang to Kedah based on the current rate.

His statement was in response to Penang’s payments to Kedah that had only amounted to RM10.01mil since 2018.

Muhammad Sanusi accused several news portals of misquoting him, leading to accusations of a constitutional violation.

He questioned the reliance on news portals as sources of information, adding that the government should have its own channels to get accurate information.

Muhammad Sanusi, who is also the PAS election director, said government officials should have contacted him to verify his statement before discussing it in Parliament.

“They claimed I violated the Constitution, but how is asking for the lease rate (of Penang) to be increased considered violating the Constitution?

“The debate about my statement in Parliament on Tuesday should not have happened because it referred to the wrong quote.“They had quoted a portal and said I insisted on amending the Constitution so that Penang is returned to Kedah.”

He said he was confident because he possessed supporting documents and was unconcerned about further investigations.

He showed one of three letters he had sent to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over his statement, adding that he had yet to receive a response.On Tuesday, police secretary Deputy Comm Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin said that the Bukit Aman CID Special Investigation Unit would call up the Kedah Mentri Besar to record his statement after they had received a report on the matter.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Sanusi said he had given his full cooperation to the Bukit Aman officers who came to record his statement.“Bukit Aman came to see me; they do their job, I do my job, it’s fair,” he said, adding that he had provided all the documents required for the investigation.