SUNGAI PETANI: Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor insists that his legal suit against Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail will proceed as planned.
Sanusi said that he is determined to pursue the case to protect the integrity of the state government and the role of Menteri Besar entrusted to him.
"I am suing Saifuddin in his personal capacity for statements made while he was campaigning during the state election. He used government apparatus to attack us during that time," he said.
"We collected his baseless statements from the campaign and have sued him based on those remarks. This suit is against Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, not against the Home Minister, so please don't misunderstand. He made slanderous claims," said Sanusi.
However, the Kedah Menteri Besar said he has no objection if Saifuddin wishes to request a postponement of the case hearing, scheduled for three days beginning Monday.
"I was informed that he applied for a postponement yesterday, citing his busy schedule. I'm not sure if the court has granted this, but if it does, we're willing to reschedule," he said during a press conference after chairing the state executive council meeting at the Sungai Petani Municipal Council building today.
Sanusi hopedthat the defamation lawsuit would serve as a warning against making baseless allegations against the state government.
He added that, while he has no issue being personally targeted, as Menteri Besar, he has a duty to uphold the dignity of his office.
Sanusi filed the writ of summons and statement of claim through Faizi and Associates at the Alor Setar High Court on Aug 3, 2023.
He alleged that Saifuddin, who is also Pakatan Harapan's secretary-general, defamed him by claiming he misused funds from the Malaysian Road Records Information System (Marris).
According to the statement of claim, Saifuddin allegedly made defamatory statements during a speech at the Unity Tour Programme and the Launch of the Kedah Unity Machinery event at the Guar Chempedak field in Yan on July 15, last year at 8.30pm.
The speech was part of a PH and Barisan Nasional (BN) political campaign leading up to the state election in August.
Sanusi claimed that Saifuddin made defamatory comments accusing him, as Menteri Besar and representative of Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI), of stealing rare earth elements (REE) in Kampung Chong, Sik, which received widespread media coverage.