GEORGE TOWN – Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is treading dangerous waters as the PAS leader has doubled down on his claims that Penang belongs to Kedah.
More leaders in Penang Pakatan Harapan have slammed the Kedah menteri besar over his repeated jabs, with one accusing him of “confusing voters” as polls loom for six states in the peninsula.
Penang PKR information chief Amir Ghazali said Sanusi’s claims are designed to confuse Malay voters in both states, as well as fanning sentiments among Kedahans.
Amir added that Sanusi should take into consideration how Malays in the two states have for decades lived peacefully with each other.
“I am aggrieved with what Sanusi had said as it is rude and extreme. His remarks affect the unity among neighbours, and it is anti-constitutional,” he said.
In a statement, he also challenged Penang PAS to say whether it supports Sanusi’s view on the matter.
Meanwhile, DAP’s Pulau Tikus assemblyman Chris Lee said Sanusi’s claims will not do his coalition – Perikatan Nasional (PN) – any favours in Penang’s coming polls.
He added that Sanusi continues to question Penang’s sovereignty as a state but wants to contest elections to represent the people in the same state’s legislature.
“By contesting in Penang, PN is already recognising that Penang is a state of Malaysia. If Kedah PN claims that Penang is part of Kedah, then PN should not contest at all in Penang.
“We are equally proud of our respective history and heritage as well as being a great melting pot of cultures. Our place as a state of Malaysia should never be questioned as it has already been enshrined in the federal constitution,” said Lee in a statement.
Penang, Kedah, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kelantan, and Terengganu are expected to dissolve their assemblies and call elections later this year.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh said since British rule, Penang has been acknowledged as a straits state under the grouping known as the Straits Settlements.
“Subsequently, several agreements signed between Kedah and the British had also clearly acknowledged Penang and Province Wellesley (mainland Penang) as a sovereign state.
“The agreements include the Agreement between His Britannic Majesty’s Government and the State of Kedah, 1923; the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948 and the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957,” he said in a statement, adding that Sanusi’s claims that Penang belonged to Kedah were baseless.
“No objection was ever raised by any party, including the Kedah government, that Penang was owned by Kedah.”
Article 71(1) of the federal constitution, which is read together with Schedule Eight, also guarantees that every state, including Penang, has its own constitution that provides ways to manage the state government.
Yesterday, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow challenged Sanusi to take his claims to court, instead of repeating them in public.
“This is not the first time he is making such claims. We’ll see whether he wants to see us in court over the matter,” Chow said after he was asked whether Penang was considering taking action against Sanusi for defamation.
Sanusi, who studied at Universiti Sains Malaysia here and had worked briefly in Penang, has been caught up in a squabble with his neighbouring state.
From disputes over historic narratives to water and land boundaries, as well as competition for investments, Sanusi has been at loggerheads with Penang since assuming leadership of Kedah in 2020 after the collapse of the then-Pakatan Harapan government.
On Monday, Sanusi was reported as saying 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.
Penang became a sovereign state when its founder Francis Light brokered a deal with the Kedah sultan to first claim the island, and later a stretch that became known as Province Wellesley (now Seberang Prai) 1786 onwards. – The Vibes, May 31, 2023
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