The caretaker Kedah menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s arrest at 3am has conjured memories of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s arrest in 1998, said an analyst.

Political observers who spoke to Malaysiakini concurred that the detention and sedition charges against Sanusi (above, right) will only propel the PAS leader into further popularity, with his supporters hoisting him as a hero.

Sunway University political analyst Wong Chin Huat opined that the midnight arrest has made Sanusi appear as a victim of political persecution...