SWEATY ARMPIT OR NOT, THE ‘SANUSI SALUTE’ OVERTAKES NAJIB’S ‘MALU APA BOSSKU’ IN HYPE & POPULARITY – AT LEAST IN RURAL KEDAH! – WHO KNOWS SANUSI MAY END UP IN KAJANG LIKE NAJIB ONCE THE ELECTIONS ARE OVER & THE AUTHORITIES CAN FLEX THEIR MUSCLES WITHOUT BEING ACCUSED OF PLAYING POLITICS!
Reverence for Sanusi runs deep in rural and semi-urban Kedah
SUNGAI PETANI — Hundreds of people gathered on a mud-soaked football field in Taman Ria, Sungai Petani last Sunday night to attend a Perikatan Nasional (PN) mega ceramah and yet close to midnight, the star speaker caretaker Kedah menteri besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor was nowhere to be seen.
As Alor Setar MP Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden ended his speech, he told those present that Sanusi was unable to attend after all due to “security issues”.
“In the coming days, something terrible might happen. All of us have to be prepared. Please pray for the safety of our menteri besar and our candidates.
Rather than dim his clout, it would appear that the 3am arrest and subsequent court action against the PAS man made the locals revere him even more.
Sanusi was arrested on July 18 prior to being charged with two counts of sedition over remarks about the Sultan of Selangor’s choice of Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari as his menteri besar.
He is also currently at the centre of a scandal over the alleged theft of rare earth elements in Sik.
A common man and ‘hero’
In Sungai Petani, Kedah’s largest city, and the only federal seat held by Pakatan Harapan in the state, campaign posters featuring Sanusi alongside the PN logo are prevalent even though he is not the area’s candidate.
“When he speaks, the aura that emanates from him, you can feel it. He speaks closely to our heart.
“When you listen to his ceramah, what he says are all based on true facts. That is why when the [federal] government attacks him, he is relaxed,” a 39-year-old local Norhayanti Saad told Malay Mail.
Ingrained in the minds of his supporters and PN is the image of Sanusi as a “hero” who was wrongly persecuted for being “right” and for bravely standing up against the powers-that-be.
Norhayanti said she made the effort to travel from her home just to attend the Sunday ceramah where Sanusi was supposed to appear on the PN campaign trail for the Bukit Selambau state constituency.
“He is able to feel the hardship of the poor, and he understands. The people love him because he is humble and approachable,” she said.
Images of the caretaker MB raising his whole arm high above his head – imitating Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s gesture of defiance back in the late 1990s and which became the rallying symbol for the reformasi movement – is now known as the “Sanusi salute” and adopted by his sympathisers against the federal government which are seen as bent on curtailing the PAS man’s support.
“We are fighting Anwar Ibrahim!” Sanusi has said repeatedly on the campaign trail to rally his supporters, and they follow his gesture and raising their arms – some left, some right.
For Mohamad Faiz Hazmi, the blunt-speaking Sanusi depicts the courage he believes is lacking in other politicians, especially those ruling at the federal level.
“If something is wrong, he will fight to the end. He has an aura that only a Kedahan understands,” the 24-year-old said.
Asked to explain, Mohamad Faiz said Sanusi’s gruff manner is representative of how locals speak to each other, without pretence.
“Maybe for other states he may seem vulgar, but we Kedahans are used to it. It is as if he is one of us, close to us,” the young man said.
Some 50km away in Kampung Jeneri, Sik where Sanusi is seeking a second term in public office, first-time voter Fatin Nabila Abdul Hamid was all praise for Sanusi.
While not a constituent of where Sanusi is contesting, Fatin Nabila said Sanusi “deserved” to win because he is not only approachable, but has achieved much for Kedah.
“He can win, he deserves to win,” the 24-year-old said when asked of Sanusi’s chances on August 12.
At Kampung Hujung Bandar within the Jeneri state constituency, villagers Mohumad Danial Syazwan Abdullah and Fairus Abdullah both said Sanusi embodied the spirit of the commoners since he too grew up in a village just like them.
As staunch supporters of Sanusi throughout Sanusi’s tenure as menteri besar, they said Sanusi understood the issues faced by the villagers and that his boosted popularity was the result of being efficient at ‘solving problems’.
“This is his constituency after all, of course he knows the problem of the villages since he is village-born himself,” a 57-year-old housewife who only identified herself as Fairus said when met.
Asked if Sanusi were to hypothetically switch political parties, Kedahan Mohumad Danial Syazwan Abdullah affirmed that he would vote for the former, without question.
“Sanusi winning the state election? Yes definitely. Big chance,” he said confidently.
With such overwhelming support for Sanusi, it remains to be seen if his direct challenger from Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Muhammad Khizri Abu Kassim can dislodge the PAS veteran on polling day this Saturday.
What do the numbers say?
In Election 2018, Sanusi emerged victorious in the Jeneri state seat, with 46.3 percent of votes in a three-cornered fight against Umno’s Mahadzir Abdul Hamid and Mohd Nazri Abu Hassan of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (which was then a component of Pakatan Harapan).
Sanusi garnered 10,626 votes with a 2,455 majority against his closest rival from Umno.
Sanusi then became menteri besar after PN wrested power in Kedah in 2020 following a major political shakeup which led to his and the coalition’s popularity skyrocketing in the state.
In GE15 last November, PN garnered a sizeable majority of 21,787 (or 34,606 overall votes in total) against both Barisan Nasional (BN) and PH in the Sik federal seat – where Jeneri is one of two state constituency – a reflection of the constituency’s majority alignment.
In contrast to the 2018 election results, PAS – which was at that time not part of any major coalition – had even managed to obtain a 5,218 majority (or 20,088 overall votes in total) against BN and PH.
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