SHAH ALAM – Kedah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has denied allegations of trying to delay the two sedition charges against him.
Sanusi, who is also the election director of Perikatan Nasional, said that he never intended to delay the case, adding that the request to transfer the case is in accordance with legal procedure.
“I made this application (to transfer the case) according to the rules, and followed the law that is allowed… I will leave the legal matters to the lawyer.
“The allegation of me trying to delay the case is their assumption. I am setting a good example here; otherwise, I would not be present here today. I am a responsible citizen,” he told the media today.
According to the two charges, Sanusi is alleged to have uttered inflammatory words at Simpang 4, Taman Selayang Mutiara-Kampung Bendahara, Gombak, near here, at 11pm on July 11, 2023.
The two charges are in accordance with Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948, which can be punished according to Section 4(1) of the same act that carries a fine of up to RM5,000 or a maximum imprisonment of three years or both, if convicted.
On January 11, Sanusi applied to transfer his case from the Selayang sessions court to the Shah Alam High Court.
Sanusi filed an application to transfer the case, among other grounds, on the basis that a reasonable and fair trial could not be conducted in any lower criminal court than the high court.
Through the motion notice, the Jeneri, Kedah state assembly member said that if the trial was conducted in the high court, it would make it easier for the parties to refer to the complicated legal issues that would be presented during the trial.
Earlier, during proceedings at the high court here, judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin fixed February 1 for the hearing of Sanusi’s application to transfer the case from the Selayang sessions court to the high court.
The court then ordered both parties to file counter arguments on or before January 29. – January 24, 2024