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THERE is a need to clearly frame what Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is adamant in doing, which is to unsettle neighbouring Penang, said former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The DAP adviser said that there are two pertinent issues related to Sanusi's determination to either seek a higher honorarium payout from Penang or to dispute the state's sovereignty due to apparent inconclusive historical anecdotes.
The first concerns sovereignty, where the due process is to go through the Penang legislative assembly for debates, followed by Parliament and then the Malay Rulers Conference.
"I doubt this effort by Sanusi will gather any traction. I doubt the Penang legislature will accede to the request to question Penang's ultimate standing as a member state under the federated states of the Federal Constitution," said Lim.
He said that Sanusi may not even get it pass Parliament although some lawmakers may want to debate it to swell up their political mileage.
The other matter is seeking for a higher honorarium, said Lim.
Sanusi had informed his state legislative assembly sitting that Kedah intends to pursue a legal channel to seek a higher honorarium payout based on historical documents which depicted that Penang was "leased" to the British colonial forces.
And the agreement apparently became null and void because the British did not honour the pact to come to the defence of Kedah against the marauding invaders from the Siamese Kingdom in the 17th century.
As Sanusi mentioned of his desire to bring the matter to court, Penang's current Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow's standard reply was to see him in court.
To this, Lim said that seeking for a higher honorarium is a matter between Kedah and the Federal Government; it is unrelated to Penang or the Malay Rulers.
"It is up to Sanusi to take up the matter with the Federal Government," said Lim.
Lim was the finance minister in 2018 when the Federal Government on the prodding from then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, agreed to increase the honorarium figure from RM10,000 to RM10 million per annum.
But Sanusi is apparently unsatisfied; he feels that RM100 million is more suitable.
Penang is seen as more developed economically than Kedah despite smaller in size but the island state has doubled its gross domestic product (GDP) productivity. – November 16, 2025