Sanusi should move on

[superadmin]

The claim by Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor that Penang belongs to Kedah and his call to amend the Federal Constitution to reflect this is, to say the least, interesting.

Last Monday, Sanusi again asserted that Kedah “owns Penang”, citing the annual payment that Penang pays Kedah and historical records as proof.

Those who have read Malaysian history would know that the Kedah sultanate leased Penang island and Province Wellesley to the British in 1791 for 10,000 Spanish dollars. Later, the East India Company acquired this territory from the Sultan of Kedah in exchange for military protection and an annual payment in perpetuity.

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Kedah’s ownership claim invalid as Fed Constitution guarantees Penang’s status as a sovereign state

KEDAH has no right to stake its claim on Penang as the position of Penang as a sovereign state within Malaysia that is separate from Kedah is clearly enshrined under Clause (2) Article 1 of the Federal Constitution.

To a question by Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng at the Prime Minister Question Time (PMQT) session in Dewan Rakyat this morning, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Federal Constitution provides that the Federal states consist of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Selangor and Terengganu in addition to the Borneo states of  Sabah and Sarawak.

“Existing provisions in the Federal Constitution are the result of the agreements between the British Government and the Malay Rulers to form the Federation of Malaya dated Jan 21, 1948 (1948 Agreement) and the Federation of Malaya agreement dated Aug 5, 1957 (1957 Agreement),” Anwar clarified.

“Through the 1948 Agreement, agreement was reached to form Federation of Malaya which will consist of nine states Malay states and two Straits Settlements states, namely Melaka and Penang (including Seberang Perai).”

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“Why bring this up now, 7 days later?” Guan Eng asks Sanusi

DAP chairman has slammed Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor for pointing fingers at Free Malaysia Today (FMT) for misquoting and misreporting him, saying that the Kedah Menteri Besar should own up to his earlier remarks about “erasing Penang” instead of blaming news portals.

Lim said if it is true that the news portal was inaccurate in its reporting on the matter, Sanusi should have immediately contacted FMT and asked for a retraction and correction of the news report on May 31.

“Why bring up now, 7 days later, after being called up for questioning by the police under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998?” the former Penang chief minister said in a statement today (June 8).

Lim said if FMT had refused to make the necessary corrections, Sanusi could have then lodged a police report against the news portal.

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Kedah take over Penang? That’s unconstitutional: Anwar

BALIK PULAU – There is no way for Kedah to take over Penang as it is unconstitutional, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The attorney-general and even the Malay rulers’ council have discussed and decided that Penang is part of the federated states, he said.

Anwar stressed that a certain leader in Kedah needs to be careful when speaking over such issues.

It is pointless to dwell on such matters, as there are more important things to pursue, from righting the wrongs of the previous administration to fighting living costs and poverty, Anwar said after meeting the community at the Barat Daya mosque here.

Anwar also said that under his stewardship, the government plans to stop corruption at all costs and to curb wastage.

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