Sanusi Pleads Not Guilty To Making Seditious Remark Against Selangor Sultan
He was arrested at 3am today, 18 July, with the presence of 20 police officers outside his hotel room.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 18 Jul 2023, 10:50 AM
Kedah caretaker Menteri Besar (MB) Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi has been charged for making a seditious remark against the Selangor Sultan
The 48-year-old Perikatan Nasional (PN) elections director was brought to the Selayang Court Complex at 9am today, 18 July.
Photos and videos published by local media outlets show a heavy police presence at the compound.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Sanusi pleaded not guilty to two charges, both framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act at two separate courts.
The provision carries a punishment of up to a RM5,000 in fine, three years in jail, or both for first-time offenders.
He is said to have committed the offence at Simpang Empat, Taman Selayang Mutiara in Gombak, Selangor, on 11 July.
The second charge he faces is in relation to a statement that he made that was "inclined to incite disloyalty against the rulers".
He is said to have committed the same offence at the same place and time for this charge.
He was allowed bail of RM5,000 for both charges, and both courts have imposed a gag order on Sanusi to stop him from making any comments regarding the case.
Sanusi (middle) appearing at the Selayang Session Court today, 18 July.
Image via Fariz Rosadio/Kosmo!Prior to being charged, the caretaker MB was arrested at 3am today at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur with the presence of 20 police officers
According to The Star, his political secretary, Hilmi Abd Wahab, said that Sanusi had just returned to his hotel room from the PN Supreme Council meeting, and by 2am, he saw two men in dark clothes standing at the emergency exit.
As minutes went by, more and more uniformed men showed up, before finally, at 2.30am, a total of 20 policemen were reportedly standing outside his hotel room.
"He was then ordered out of his room, brought downstairs, and ushered into an MPV, which we were told was headed to the Gombak district police headquarters.
"We were informed by the police that he was detained under Section 4(1)(A) of the Sedition Act," the English daily quoted Hilmi as saying.
Harian Metro reported that Sanusi was arrested at a premises in Mon't Kiara by offiers from the Classified Criminal Investigations Department (USJT) and Bukit Aman's Anti-Vice, Gambling, and Secret Societies Division (D7).
Sanusi was arrested with the presence of 20 police officers today.
Image via Social media via Berita MediacorpSanusi's arrest comes after he drew a comparison between the Kedah and Selangor Sultans during a recent pre-election ceramah
He allegedly said the Kedah ruler would not have appointed someone as "lousy" as Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari as the Selangor MB, reported New Straits Times.
Four days after making the controversial statement, Sanusi wrote a letter to the Selangor Sultan to apologise. He, however, claimed that his speech was "spun" by his rivals.
This is not the first time a PAS politician has ruffled feathers with the Malay rulers. In July 2021, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong reprimanded then-de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan for misleading lawmakers in the Dewan Rakyat.
Takiyuddin also apologised to the Agong after the latter expressed his "disappointment" in him.
