Police investigating Kedah chief minister for claiming state’s ownership of Penang: Malaysia PM Anwar

Alor Setar MP Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden later pointed out that a former Kedah executive councillor had made a similar claim over Penang on 8 Feb, 2017. 

The United Malays National Organisation’s (UMNO) Mohd Rawi Abdul Hamid had said then that “Kedah would do its best to take back Penang”, according to Mr Afnan. 

Last Monday, Mr Sanusi, who is also the PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia) elections director, reportedly claimed that Penang is under the ownership of Kedah, according to local media.

“I’m waiting for confirmation from the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia if there is a determined basis for the confirmation of Kedah’s border with other states, from what I know, Penang is Kedah’s,” he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian, adding that there is no such thing as the Kedah-Penang border.

He insisted that Penang had never “escaped” Kedah. “We are not taking it back, they weren’t free (from Kedah), it’s our right,” he reportedly said.

Following this, Mr Anwar told reporters a day later that Mr Sanusi should understand and follow the Federal Constitution before making claims on ownership of Penang. 

“When a leader in this country speaks, he has to always understand the Federal Constitution … As a chief minister, he is bound by the legislation,” he said, according to the Malay Mail. 

Subsequently, Mr Sanusi last Wednesday called for the Federal Constitution to be amended to support his claim that Penang belongs to Kedah, according to Free Malaysia Today (FMT). 

He reportedly said that historical and academic studies supported his claim that Kedah owned Penang. He added that there was a need for the current generation to rectify the “distortion of history” and amend the Federal Constitution accordingly.

“Given that the Federal Constitution can be amended in parliament to accommodate present needs, why should the discovery of strong evidence be disregarded simply because of what is written in the Constitution?” Mr Sanusi was quoted as saying by FMT.