KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has clarified that the arrest of caretaker Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor this morning was the result of the police’s inability to contact the Pas leader prior to his court hearing today.
Speaking at a press conference at Bukit Aman, Razarudin said that numerous calls had been made by the police to Sanusi and his political secretary but to no avail.
“Since we could not reach him, we tried to find him and we found him at 2.30am at Mont Kiara.
“He was arrested to ensure that he attended court to hear the charges against him.”
Commenting on cases that touched upon the race, religion and royalty (3R), Razarudin said that it must be looked into holistically.
“We can see from the degree of the investigation that it had brought insult and a sense of disloyalty towards the royals.”
“If we let these sorts of things go on, all nine Malay rulers might be subject to insults,” he said.
Sanusi after being charged in court earlier today had told the media that he was not informed he would be charged today, saying that he only found out through news reports.
He also claimed he was arrested despite stating that he would present himself in court.
“I informed several parties that I would be present at court this morning, but they still wanted to arrest me at my apartment in Kuala Lumpur at 3am,” he said.
Sanusi, who is also Perikatan Nasional (PN) election director, was charged with two counts of uttering seditious remarks that could incite disloyalty towards any Rulers.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He is facing a maximum three-year imprisonment or RM5,000 fine upon conviction under Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act.
During a PN ceramah in Selayang, he was reported to have belittled Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari appointment as Selangor Menteri Besar by the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
NST
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