What about the man who was arrested for insulting Sanusi, asks Fahmi

What about the man who was arrested for insulting Sanusi, asks Fahmi


The arrest of caretaker Kedah menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor on early Tuesday morning and the arrest of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim back in 1998 are completely different, said Fahmi Fadzil.

Fahmi, who is communications and digital minister, said comparing the two may be the narrative that some are trying to play up but the reality is not the same.

“The reality is that in 2021, there was a pak cik who was arrested around three to four in the morning for allegedly insulting Sanusi.

“To me, that might be a more accurate comparison.

“Whatever it is, we take our lesson from what has happened and don’t ever insult the royal institution or try to incite the people,” Fahmi said.

He was speaking to reporters after attending the Awal Muharram celebration with Anwar and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur today.

In 1998, Anwar was forcibly arrested at his then home in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur by balaclava-clad police personnel on Sept 21, 1998.

He was produced in court a week later with a black eye. It was later proven that he was beaten by then inspector-general of police Rahim Noor.

In contrast, Sanusi was arrested at a rental apartment in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday morning around 3am and charged with making seditious remarks about five hours later.

Throughout the affair, Sanusi was not handcuffed.

Caretaker Kedah menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor


On a separate matter, Fahmi said there is a need to form a special unit that involves collaboration between the police, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, his ministry, as well as social media platform providers.

The unit would be tasked to monitor and prevent sensitive issues such as the 3Rs (royalty, race, religion) from being misused during the state polls, he said.