BALIK PULAU – Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has been taken to task over his “misguided” insistence on seeking compensation from Putrajaya due to an archaic lease for Penang purportedly obtained by British colonialists some 200 years ago.
Last week, Sanusi had demanded a RM100 million annual payout on grounds that the RM10 million it is now receiving from Putrajaya is pittance compared to the economic value from the lease that Kedah accorded to the British and therefore passed to the Malaysian government after independence.
While congratulating the Kedah leader on being awarded the title of Datuk Seri by state ruler Al-Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah today, PKR’s Yusmadi Yusoff said Sanusi had erred in pursuing the matter.
The former Balik Pulau MP described the demand as a slap in the face of the Keluarga Malaysia concept as espoused by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
“Sanusi is going head-on against the Keluarga Malaysia concept. Isn’t Penang part of the Federation of Malaysia? Why bring up an archaic issue? Does it benefit Kedah or Penang?”
Sanusi should have demanded RM100 million from the Treasury because Kedah has limited funding, rather than dragging Penang into Kedah’s affairs, said Yusmadi, adding that perhaps it is just pure politics.
Sanusi is seen as ambitious and is jostling to become one of the three PAS vice-presidents in the party’s general assembly, which will see the election of office bearers.
“Sanusi should inform the public what he intends to do with the RM100 million,” he added.
Yusmadi said forming a panel of historians to provide a finding on the historical issue will not change things. Penang remains a state in itself, as recognised under the federal constitution, and its role is crucial in the northern corridor development plan.
He said that the focus of the current leaders is not on the past, but on the present pandemic era and the near future, on how the country can adjust to the endemic phase of Covid-19.
He added that under the northern corridor development plan, Penang, Perlis, Kedah, and northern Perak are supposed to complement each other with each having a niche role to play in regional growth, which must be sustainable, said Yusmadi. – The Vibes, November 1, 2021
