Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has claimed that Kedah caretaker menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor was fined RM500,000 last year over theft of rare earth elements (REE) in Kampung Chong, Sik.

Speaking at the launch of the Kedah BN-Harapan election machinery launch last night, Saifuddin openly questioned Sanusi if the latter received a letter dated Oct 4, 2022, stating the fine.

“I would like to ask Sanusi, as the (caretaker) menteri besar, and the Menteri Besar Kedah Incorporated (MBI Kedah) chairperson if there was a letter from a Fauzi Mustaffa, who is the Kedah land and mines office director, at the end of last year.

“The letter requested that the MBI pay a RM500,000 compound for stealing rare earth elements in Kampung Chong, Sik, Kedah,” Saifuddin said during the event held at the Guar Chempedak public field.

He further alleged the fine was under Section 426(1) of the National Land Code 1965 (Act 828) – which imposes a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both, on any person who without lawful authority, extracts, removes or transports, or permits the extraction, removal, or transportation of rock material from any land.

The PKR secretary-general claimed the offence was committed at 2.30pm on Sept 24, 2022.

“This is only the beginning. There will be a series of exposés with complete documents because we believe the wisdom of Kedahans should never be underestimated.

“With that, we hope to win at least 19 seats in the polls to secure a simple majority and form the new state government,” Saifuddin said.

Also at the event was Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who said arrests have begun over the issue. However, he did not elaborate on the individuals involved.

“We are confident in the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers. The rakyat want the truth,” he said.

Malaysiakini has contacted Sanusi for a response to the claims.

Kampung Chong is located along the perimeter of Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve where Sanusi previously dismissed REE theft in the area.

Sanusi said there was no connection between such activity to 52 suspects arrested at the forest reserve in February this year.

The month prior, Sanusi denied accusations that he reaped RM1 billion from rare earth mining in the state, adding that MBI had nothing to do with the illegal mining.

19 seat target

Saifuddin said Harapan and BN’s target of winning 19 out of 36 state seats in Kedah was an achievable one.

Pedu was won by PAS for the first time in the 2018 state election with a 670-vote majority for Mohd Radzi Md Amin.

Pantai Merdeka on the other hand has been a swing seat between PAS and BN over the course of several elections, but was won in 2018 by Ahmad Fadzli Hashim with a 4,566-vote majority.

Saifuddin said Amanah will field a candidate in Kubang Rotan, which is a former PKR seat, as well as Pengkalan Kundor.

He added that Harapan hoped to retain Kulim, Lunas, Bukit Selambau, Sidam, and Bakar Arang which were previously won by PKR.

DAP will field candidates in Derga and Kota Darul Aman, he added.

BN-Harapan will obtain a simple majority of 19 seats if they achieve a 14 percent swing from PN voters. According to election data from GE15, PN only won 56 percent of the popular vote.

If none of PN’s supporters swings towards BN-Harapan, it will likely hold seven seats.

PN previously won 21 out of the 36 seats. Two were won by Pejuang while the Gurun seat was vacant before the assembly’s dissolution.  MKINI

Without his TikTok account, Sanusi said it would make it difficult for him to respond to current issues and attacks from his opponents.

“After this, there will be very terrible, very frightening news for you. Today alone I was ‘shot’ five times.

“All sorts of cases, the bungalow case, this case, that case, tonight there is the rare earth elements case. There are answers for all of that, but they have erased my TikTok.

“(I) opened TikTok and I saw it was gone. We were just about to get popular, that was the platform we wanted to answer (things) exhaustively on. We cannot go on television, they don’t let us, and we cannot get onto the radio.

“We only use TikTok and Facebook. Nowadays, the youth don’t look at Facebook anymore because they say it is only for the old,” Sanusi said in a video PAS organ Harakah Daily uploaded on Twitter.

Sanusi announced the deletion of his TikTok account in a short posting on Facebook last night.

“Darai dah barai,” he said, attaching a screenshot of his now-defunct TikTok account.

Darai is a Kedahan slang referring to “a man acting or dressing like a woman” whereas barai is understood as “to destroy”.

Malaysiakini’s check found that Sanusi’s TikTok account can still be accessed, but all of his posts have been deleted.

‘Govt afraid of free press’

Sanusi accused the coalition government of being afraid of media freedom.

“They are afraid of the free press, they have completely erased (my TikTok account). The 5.2 million (likes) and comments, and followers numbering in millions.

“If I were to make another (account), to find (followers) one by one would be difficult, no? That is the era of the Pakatan Harapan administration, Malaysia is now moving towards becoming North Korea.

“North Korea is a communist country, they block all media and don’t let their people know anything, just listen and obey,” he said.

Sanusi had recently made several controversial remarks on various topics including claiming that Penang belongs to Kedah and allegedly insulting the Selangor sultan.

He is also under police investigation for remarks touching on race, religion and royalty.  MKINI

Sik bungalow belongs to Sanusi’s brother, says Kedah MB’s press sec

ALOR STAR: The office of the Kedah Menteri Besar brushed off claims that Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor owned a bungalow in Sik, as circulated on social media since yesterday.

His press secretary, Muhamad Mat Yakim said the house, located near the Sik Hospital, belonged to Sanusi’s elder brother who built the home using the latter’s own income as an underwater welder.

“A photo of a bungalow in Sik attached with a Google map is being projected with the assumption that the house belonged to him (Sanusi). The photo is being circulated by slanderers and envious people in the social media.”

“It is baseless and nothing but slander,” Muhamad said in a statement today.

Sanusi held the Jeneri state seat in the Sik district prior to the state assembly dissolution at the end of last month to pave the way for the 15th state election this Aug 12.

A Facebook page, “Kerajaan Perpaduan YDPA” uploaded a post with the photograph of the bungalow.

The caption read: “This is a huge bungalow, I hear it is located in Sik, Kedah, it costs RM7.8 million. Ehem.. whose house is it? Wish to know as well… does it belong to an Islamic fighter? It is okay, we shall soon find out who the owner is… Used (your) brother’s name… There you go, so much for the struggle for the poor.”

Muhamad claimed that slanderers were working hard in the run up of the state election to create a perception that Sanusi has amassed wealth after assuming the post of menteri besar three years ago.

“None of Sanusi’s money was used to build the house, not even a single sen. It belongs to someone else using the person’s own hard-earned money for decades.

“All this while, the person had been saving his income as an underwater welder, having to leave his wife and children behind for months.

“Is it wrong to save money after decades of work, risking his own life to give a glimpse of happiness to his family?

“The owner of the house is not a politician. He has nothing to do with politics or the election. Why is he being victimised as if the house was built by using dirty money?

“Is it a sin for him to be related to Sanusi? Just because he is the elder brother to the Menteri Besar of Kedah, he does not have the right to build a big house using his own money?” he said in the statement.

He claimed that most of the people in Sik were aware that the bungalow belonged to Sanusi’s elder brother, Budin.

Muhamad said Sanusi described his brother as a person with strong will, a diligent worker, disciplined and highly motivated.

“Sanusi admires his elder brother’s strong will, hard work, discipline and determination to improve his life. His brother is also smart in managing his money and buying of properties.

“Just stop this slander as it is nothing but a sinful act,” said Muhamad.  NST

MKINI / NST

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