SIK: Caretaker Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi who is facing trial for two counts of uttering seditious remarks that could incite disloyalty towards the rulers, has expressed confidence that he would not be found guilty of the charges.
Thus, the Perikatan Nasional election director who is defending his Jeneri state seat, insisted that there is no need to call for a by-election in the constituency after the state polls.
"I will win the court case. There will be no by-election in Jeneri," he told reporters after casting his ballot at the SK Bandar Baharu Beris Jaya here today.
Sanusi was asked if there is a possibility of a by-election in Jeneri should he be found guilty of the court charges.
Last month, Sanusi claimed trial at the Selayang sessions court to two counts of uttering seditious and insulting remarks in relation to Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah near Taman Selayang Mutiara at about 11pm on July 11.
The offence falls under Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act, which carries a maximum of three years imprisonment or an RM5,000 fine or both.
Sanusi, during a PN ceramah in Selayang, was reported to have belittled Amirudin's appointment by the sultan of Selangor.
Sanusi also drew comparisons between the sultan of Kedah (Al-Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah) and the sultan of Selangor, saying that Sultan Sharafuddin's Menteri Besar choice was "cokia" (substandard).
An assemblyman or a member of parliament will lose their position if he is found guilty of and sentenced to more than 12 months' imprisonment or over RM2,000 fine.
However, the elected representative is entitled to file an appeal to the sentence and they would only lose the position should they fail to reverse the verdict after exhausting all appeal process.
Meanwhile, Sanusi said he is ready to face the legal suit by tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun.
"Ready or not, I have to get ready for it. I did not expect there will be legal suits in the election campaign since normally, we resolve things on political platforms.
"However, since there is (a legal suit), we will get ready. I have appointed a lawyer. I haven't received details on the legal suit, I just read them in news reports.
"If he has submitted (the legal suit), my lawyer will respond to it. That's the legal process," he said.
On Thursday it was reported that Tan, the founder and advisor of Berjaya Corporation Bhd and Berjaya Land Bhd filed a defamation suit against Sanusi on Aug 8 at the Shah Alam High Court.
Tan and Berjaya Land claimed that Sanusi had made a defamatory speech during his election campaign on Aug 2.
Tan had earlier submitted a notice of demand to Sanusi requesting him to issue a public apology and compensation of RM200 million over his defamatory and untrue accusations against the plaintiffs relating to the Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) project.
They also claimed that Sanusi's defamatory statements had depicted them as, among others, a corrupt person/company and that they were the cronies of the caretaker Selangor Menteri Besar.