KUALA LUMPUR – It is nonsensical for police to claim that they could not reach Kedah caretaker menteri besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor or his aides in justifying his 3am arrest, opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said.
The Perikatan Nasional (PN) leader said this is because as a menteri besar, Sanusi had a bodyguard who was assigned by the Royal Malaysia Police and could surely be contactable by his police superiors.
“This claim does not make sense at all, because police have assigned one of their officers to be the menteri besar’s bodyguard.
“Police could have asked Sanusi’s bodyguard of his whereabouts at any time,” Hamzah said in a Facebook post.
He added that the 3am arrest was meant to “humiliate” Sanusi because he is a prominent PN leader.
Hamzah was disputing the explanation by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain who yesterday said Sanusi’s arrest at 3am at a hotel in Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, was because neither he nor his aides were contactable.
Razarudin said calls made to Sanusi, his senior private secretary and political secretary were “rejected”.
The IGP said Sanusi was arrested to ensure he attended court yesterday morning to face two sedition charges over remarks made in a political speech he gave in Gombak recently.
One charge is regarding comments which allegedly insulted the Selangor sultan over the appointment of the state’s menteri besar, while the other is over remarks concerning the formation of the unity government. The Kedah caretaker menteri besar has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
On Twitter and among lawyers and civil liberties activists, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the unity government faced criticism for “using” the Sedition Act on Sanusi, with critics reminding Pakatan Harapan (PH) of its election pledge to repeal the act.
Others also argue that the 3am arrest was heavy-handed and meant to intimidate.
Anwar has said that in Sanusi’s case, the Sedition Act was used to protect the dignity of the royalty, whereas it was not his government’s “policy” to use the law against political critics.
Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil has also defended the government from claims of abusing the act, posting on his Facebook today that Sanusi had said words that have “a tendency to raise feelings of disloyalty” towards the royals, and that “this has nothing to do with the government”. – The Vibes, July 19, 2023
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