DAP chairman has slammed Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor for pointing fingers at Free Malaysia Today (FMT) for misquoting and misreporting him, saying that the Kedah Menteri Besar should own up to his earlier remarks about “erasing Penang” instead of blaming news portals.

Lim said if it is true that the news portal was inaccurate in its reporting on the matter, Sanusi should have immediately contacted FMT and asked for a retraction and correction of the news report on May 31.

“Why bring up now, 7 days later, after being called up for questioning by the police under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998?” the former Penang chief minister said in a statement today (June 8).

Lim said if FMT had refused to make the necessary corrections, Sanusi could have then lodged a police report against the news portal.

“However, the fact is that Sanusi did not immediately contact FMT for a correction after they published the report on May 31,” he remarked.

“Sanusi’s actions clearly proves that he did make the statement asking for the Federal Constitution to be amended in order for Kedah to reclaim Penang.”

Lim pointed out that by not making any corrections for seven days and then now shifting the blame to the news portal only after being questioned by the police, Sanusi is behaving in a “most irresponsible and untrustworthy manner unfit for the important position of the Menteri Besar of Kedah”.

“I am sure that the FMT reporter, as a senior reporter, has got all the evidence in writing from Sanusi before writing such an important news report,” Lim said.

The former finance minister further noted that Sanusi should not direct his wrath entirely at him by making personal attacks, and that he ought to realise that he is the main cause of public unrest and anger among the people and cause anxiety among Penangites.

“I wish to correct his false assertion that I had lodged a police report against him. This is untrue. The police reports were made not by me but by other Penang elected representatives and ordinary Penangites angered by Sanusi wanting to amend the Federal Constitution to erase Penang to return Penang back to Kedah,” he remarked.

On Wednesday (June 7), Sinar Harian reported Sanusi denying that he was trying to reclaim Penang for Kedah and adding that he only wanted the federal government to allocate a bigger payment for leasing Penang from Kedah.

Police also recorded Sanusi’s statements yesterday after calls from the government, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, for action to be taken.

After speaking to the police, Sanusi told a news conference that he had presented documents to the police, including Kedah’s three previous letters to the prime minister to seek for discussion on several matters, including payment for the alleged lease of Penang from RM10,000 a year to RM10 mil a year from 2018. - June 8, 2023

https://focusmalaysia.my/why-bring-this-up-now-7-days-later-guan-eng-asks-sanusi/