Deputy PKR president Rafizi Ramli said attempts to compare caretaker Kedah menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s arrest with that of PKR president Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 was “laughable”.
Speaking at a ceramah in Seberang Perai, Penang last night, Rafizi (above) said Anwar suffered abuses during his arrests and spent several days in detention before being brought to court on trumped-up charges.
In contrast, said Rafizi, Sanusi was only detained briefly in order for him to be charged in court.
“Sanusi didn’t even enter the lock-up. He was only detained so that he could be charged. Yet, some are likening (Sanusi’s situation) to Anwar’s in 1998.
“(Perhaps) if someone kicked and punched Sanusi (like what happened to Anwar), then it would be a different story.
“In (Sanusi’s case) he was held and charged, yet (the other side) is making noise and claiming that those in the government are scared of Sanusi, therefore (the latter) was arrested at 3am,” said Rafizi, according to Berita Harian.
In 1998, Anwar was forcibly arrested at his then home in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur by balaclava-clad police personnel on Sept 21, 1998.
He was produced in court a week later with a black eye. It was later proven that he was beaten by then inspector-general of police Rahim Noor.
In contrast, Sanusi was arrested at a rental apartment in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday morning and charged with making seditious remarks about five hours later.
Throughout the affair, Sanusi was not handcuffed.
According to Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain, the police had no choice but to detain Sanusi early in the morning because their phone calls to Sanusi and his officers were rejected.
As Sanusi was scheduled to be charged yesterday, Razarudin said the police had to take Sanusi into custody in order to ensure his court appearance.
Meanwhile, Rafizi said it was strange that a Perikatan Nasional politician such as Sanusi would make statements that offended the royal institution, despite touting strong Malay credentials.
“If I had said something similar (to what Sanusi said) then PAS would have held demonstrations and forced me to hide in a cave,” he said.
Rafizi said in the case of PKR, no one has ever been charged in court on allegations of insulting the royal institution. - Mkini
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