PETALING JAYA: Caretaker Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari has described his Kedah counterpart, Sanusi Nor, as a “copy” of former US president Donald Trump, citing his penchant for sparking controversy.
“Sanusi has his pull, but it is similar to Trump’s. I look at his style of campaigning, his look, the way he speaks, he is just copying Trump.
“That (Trump’s) style of politics will only lead to turmoil, as we saw in the US during Trump’s presidency,” Amirudin told FMT in an interview.
PAS may not realise it, he said, but Sanusi’s actions, from raising parochial sentiments to straying from norms when talking about the royalty, were very Trump-like.
The Selangor Pakatan Harapan chief said he believes Sanusi was intentionally courting controversy to distract from allegations of the theft of rare earth elements surrounding his administration in Kedah.
Sanusi has also been accused of making defamatory remarks on a river-widening project known as the Selangor Maritime Gateway.
On Monday, Berjaya Group founder Vincent Tan and Berjaya Land Bhd alleged that Sanusi’s remarks were defamatory and called for him to apologise and pay compensation of RM200 million, failing which legal action would follow.
Amirudin had previously threatened legal action against Sanusi over the same matter.
In addition, Sanusi is facing sedition charges for allegedly making insulting remarks about the royalty.
Malays urged to back PH-BN
Amirudin said he hoped the Malays in Selangor will back PH and Barisan Nasional to ensure the community retains political power in the state.
“Voting PN would lead to Malays being in the opposition in Selangor,” he said, citing data from the ground.
“If the opposition is Malay, would it benefit the community? I do not think so,” he said, adding the PH-led government in Selangor has always supported the Malays and Islam with substantial allocations.
He also hit out at PN for claiming that Malays were a “minority” in the state.
Amirudin also urged Hulu Kelang voters to reject his predecessor, Azmin Ali, for being among the prime movers of the Sheraton Move in 2020 which toppled the PH-led federal government.
“In the last general election, all three state seats (under the Gombak parliamentary constituency) rejected him (Azmin). It is a signal from the people that he should stand down.
“He (Azmin) still maintains that the Sheraton Move was good for the country, but it failed and led to chaos. Perhaps it benefitted him personally because he almost became the deputy prime minister,” he said.
