Sanusi defends 'male MP better for Sik' remark

GE15 | Kedah menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor defended his remark that the rural Sik parliamentary constituency should be helmed by a male MP, as it was in line with grassroots sentiments.

According to Free Malaysia Today, the PAS leader however admitted that he may have gone overboard when explaining the matter, claiming that his utterances were for entertainment value.

“Sik’s terrain, distance, jungles and socioeconomic factors require a male elected representative. Women should be given the space and trust as elected representatives, but not in Sik.

“I know the opposition in Pakatan Harapan and BN are using my comments as a talking point. They have run out of ideas to talk about,” he said.

Sanusi (above) also claimed that he spoke in a thick “Sik local dialect”, which might be difficult for others to understand.

Yesterday, Sanusi was caught in a video that went viral on social media, where he was seen criticising BN’s move to field female candidate Maizatul Akmam Othman in the Sik parliamentary seat.

Criticised all around

Sanusi said that, without trying to demean PAS Muslims, the area is vast and rural with many poor residents. He claimed it might be beyond the capabilities of women to serve there.

“In Sik, which is vast, rural, there are a lot of people facing difficulties. People call representatives no matter what time of the day, morning, midnight, or early in the morning, they call. If the representatives are female, can they help?

“At 3am, we can imagine a woman getting up from sleep. She wants to go help the people coping with floods. She wants to get ready to leave the house, it might take her two hours.

“It’s more appropriate to vote for a man in Sik.

“Another one (Harapan’s candidate for Sik, Latifah Md Yatim) is close to 70 years old. We know her father, but we don’t know her. What I want to tell you is not to vote for her,” Sanusi said.

Sik will witness a three-cornered clash between former MACC officer Latifah and Maizatul Akmam facing incumbent Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman, who represents Perikatan Nasional.

Sanusi’s remark in the video had courted brickbats from across the political aisle, from the likes of Latifah, Maizatul Akmam, and incumbent Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah.

As reported by Bernama, Sanusi later said those who demanded he apologise for his statement should understand the Sik dialect.

Sanusi also insisted that he was not being sexist when he made his statement.

“My talk was in my dialect, the talk was in the context of Sik in the aspects of geography, socio-economy, socio-culture, geopolitics, terrain, resident behaviour, rural area, forest area and distance.

“That’s a fact, I’m not sexist,” he told reporters after giving a talk in Padang Sera last night.

He also acknowledged that women are far ahead compared to men in certain circumstances, such as the number of women in tertiary education.

Sanusi also apologised over Sik PAS Youth chief Mohd Shahiful Mohd Nasir’s remark that those voting for BN and Harapan would be “going to hell”.

“He (Shahiful) has already apologised, he made a mistake and he said he was sorry. I also saw the video. I think many people make mistakes throughout their lives and Alhamdullilah, Malaysians are very forgiving,” he said.

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