'Kedah owns Penang' - Sanusi wants constitution amended to back his claim

Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has doubled down on his claims that Penang belongs to Kedah.

He even wants the Federal Constitution to be amended to back his claim.

Sanusi (above) told news portal FMT that historical and academic studies supported his claim that Kedah owned Penang.

He called 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?

“The only things in this world that cannot be amended are the Quran and Hadith,” Sanusi reportedly said.

“This can be done with the consent of the Council of Rulers.

“Ramkarpal (Singh) or anyone else can say anything they like. They are free to comment, and so am I … As long as (what I am saying) is not illegal,” he said.

Deputy Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh yesterday said Penang is a sovereign state in Malaysia, and its legal position cannot be disputed.

He said since British rule, Penang has been acknowledged as a straits state under the grouping known as the Straits Settlements.

“Subsequently, several agreements signed between Kedah and the British also clearly acknowledged Penang and Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai in mainland Penang) as a sovereign state.

“The agreements include the agreement between His Britannic Majesty’s Government and the State of Kedah, 1923; the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948, and the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957,” he said in a statement, adding that Sanusi’s claim that Penang belonged to Kedah was baseless.

On Monday, Sanusi claimed that Kedah and Penang had no borders as Penang belonged to Kedah and that Kedah had boundaries with only Perak and Perlis.

Replying further, Sanusi said he did not appreciate “baseless claims” questioning his understanding of the Federal Constitution or that he had undermined the supreme law of the land, challenged Penang’s sovereignty and was causing Penangites emotional distress.

“I will accept a court decision as the final solution, but I refuse to be silenced or have my views suppressed,” he said.

Further addressing Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s statement that the Malay rulers had already recognised the sovereignty of Kedah and Penang, Sanusi said Anwar should look into the background behind the increase in Penang’s “lease payments” from RM10,000 per year to RM10,010,000 in 2018.

Anwar has told the menteri besar from PAS to “understand the Federal Constitution”, which lists Penang as one of Malaysia’s 13 states.

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