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KUALA LUMPUR – Kedah caretaker menteri besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said he was in contact with a police officer the night before his 3am arrest yesterday.
Refuting Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain’s explanation on the pre-dawn arrest, Sanusi told reporters in Kedah after the state-level Maal Hijrah Celebration this morning that he had communicated with an officer from Bukit Aman the night prior to his arrest.
“With all due respect to the IGP, his version is not correct.
“I was in communication with a Bukit Aman officer from 10pm to 12am on WhatsApp. I said I will give my cooperation to be present in court.
“I have all the print screens of calls, don’t play. I wouldn’t run away. There was no need to arrest me, I was going to appear at the Selayang court,” Sanusi said in a video of his remarks to the media posted on Facebook.
“I have nowhere to run, I’m a menteri besar,” he added.
The Perikatan Nasional (PN) elections director however, said police were professional when arresting him.
“I don't blame them. They were professional. I was not roughed up, I was given a chance to bathe and brush my teeth,” he said, adding that he was then taken to the police station in Gombak.
Sanusi added that he was not placed in a lock up, but allowed to sit in the station until it was time to go to the courthouse in the morning.
The government has been under fire from critics, including lawyers and civil liberties activists, at the timing of Sanusi’s arrest and the use of the Sedition Act against him.
The IGP yesterday then said Sanusi was arrested to ensure his presence in court after calls to him and his aides were “rejected”.
Sanusi was arrested at a hotel in Mont Kiara in Kuala Lumpur and charged later the same morning with two counts of sedition.
He pleaded not guilty to allegedly insulting the Selangor sultan and to criticising the formation of the unity government. He is out on bail and his trial will begin in October.
PN chairman and Bersatu chief Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, meanwhile, issued a statement today accusing the government of becoming more oppressive towards its political opponents.
The former prime minister said the current government was not keeping its promises for reforms which included the repeal of the Sedition Act. – The Vibes, July 19, 2023
