PETALING JAYA: Sanusi Nor has threatened to sue home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for defamation over allegations linking the caretaker Kedah menteri besar to a theft of rare earth elements and the alleged misuse of federal funds for road maintenance projects.
“I wish to announce that I have sent a letter of demand to Saifuddin for defamation. If he does not respond within the specified time, we will commence legal action against him,” he said according to Sinar Harian.
“I cannot let him get away with accusing me of stealing rare earth elements. He also accused me of using funds allocated for road maintenance under the Malaysian Road Records Information System (Marris) on other projects,” he said.
In the letter of demand sighted by FMT, Sanusi warned Saifuddin not to repeat his defamatory statements.
He also insisted that Saifuddin apologise for his comments within seven days, failing which legal action will be initiated.
The PAS elections director said that Saifuddin also blamed him for a former menteri besar’s mistakes which he had no knowledge about.
Last Sunday, Sanusi described Saifuddin’s claims as untrue and malicious. He said he had instructed his officers to lodge a police report and initiate legal action.
In a ceramah on July 15, Saifuddin said Sanusi should confirm whether, as chairman of Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI), he had been penalised with a compound fine of RM500,000 over the alleged rare earths theft in Sik.
Saifuddin was also quoted as saying: “We appointed him as the MB to run the state, not to become a thief.”
In response, Sanusi said another party, not MBI, had been compounded for stealing rare earths. MBI was merely the permit holder for a separate forest farming project at the site, he said.
On Saifuddin’s accusations that Sanusi had misused unutilised Marris funds, Sanusi said the money, amounting to RM259 million, was accounted for and reported in financial statements audited by the national audit department.
