BUKIT MERTAJAM – Lawyer Pang Chuin Keat is the third person here to have lodged a police report against Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor for saying that Penang belongs to Kedah.
Pang said that as a resident of Penang, he felt Sanusi was instigating discontent and compromising the state’s sovereignty with his repeated remarks on the matter.
“As a resident, I am compelled to make a police report for an investigation to be conducted on Sanusi,” Pang said outside the district police headquarters here this afternoon.
Also present was DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng, who urged Penangites three days ago to lodge police reports against the PAS politician.
Since then, others besides Pang who have done so are DAP’s Seberang Prai City Council councillor P. David Marshall and PKR Youth head Fahmi Zainol.
Lim today said while Sanusi could be ignorant of history, he should still respect the federal constitution which enshrines Penang’s rights and existence as a state, even if it was once under Kedah sultanate territory.
“If we look at history, we can make an assumption. While Penang was once part of Kedah, the Melaka sultanate’s territories were vast, and a few states today were once under them.
“Can we say that the Melaka chief minister is the most powerful, as he owns many other states, including neighbouring states? We can be blind to history but we cannot be blind to the law,” Lim said today.
Sanusi has in the past made claims of Penang belonging to Kedah, doubling down in recent days as various Pakatan Harapan and government figures chided him, saying he did not care if police reports are lodged against him.
Lim has accused the Kedah menteri besar of deliberately stoking the issue as Kedah and Penang are two of six states due to hold elections soon.
Sanusi’s claim that Penang belongs to Kedah is based on narratives from certain historical accounts that the state's founder Francis Light had deceived the Kedah sultanate over the lease of the island and Province Wellesley on the mainland.
Hence, the agreement to lease Penang, which then became one of the 13 states under the Federation of Malaysia, should not go recognised, Sanusai claimed.
Several leaders have condemned Sanusi for his remarks, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who said all leaders need to respect the constitutional agreement that has been consented to by all Malay rulers, including the Kedah sultan.
The Vibes has asked police whether Sanusi will be called in to have his statement recorded and is waiting for a response. – The Vibes, June 3, 2023.
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