BANDAR BAHARU: Caretaker Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor could have used his position to exempt the Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) from the RM500,000 compound issued by the state Land and Mines Office (PTG) last year.
State Land and Mines Office director Datuk Md Suhaimi Abd Rahman said Sanusi could have done that by getting the state executive council to approve an exemption for MBI.
"Did the MB have the power to intervene at the time? Yes. He could have brought the matter to the state executive council meeting to exempt MBI but he did not do that. In fact, Sanusi had agreed to it (the compound).
"Is there a thief out there who agreed to be fined? Is there a thief who, after committing a crime, asked to be arrested and thrown into a lock-up? If yes, the man must be insane," Suhaimi said in his speech at the Bandar Baharu Land and District Office here during a ceremony to hand over land titles by Sanusi here yesterday.
Suhaimi stressed that he had to clear the air following allegations by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail that Sanusi, in the latter's capacity as the MBI chairman, was slapped with a RM500,000 compound by the state Land and Mines Office over rare earth mining theft in Sik district last year.
Suhaimi explained that in 2016, under the previous administration, the State Forestry Department granted a permit to MBI to use the land in Kampung Chong, Sik district for a forest farming replanting project.
"Hence, when there was an arrest between 2019 and 2020, the state Land and Mines Office was given consent by the head of prosecution in the state to compound the parties involved.
"The head of prosecution, who is a federal government officer, passed a note to the Land and Mines Office to issue a RM500,000 compound to MBI and to a civilian caught for the theft.
"The head of prosecution did not specifically mention issuing a RM500,000 compound to Sanusi. Thus, since there is no such thing, don't make things up!" he said.
He added that a Muslim should have not pinned the sin of a person to everyone associated with an organisation.
"Hence, we can't specifically say that the PTG Office had compounded the MB. The punishment is shouldered by the person who committed the offence."
Suhaimi denied that he was trying to defend Sanusi, but rather he was adhering to the sayings of Prophet Muhammad, that a Muslim should immediately defuse slander the moment he hears it.
He also reminded all parties to refrain from making baseless allegations in the run-up to the state polls.
"We should not achieve victory by using dirty tricks because such dirty tactics will not yield something pure," he said.
It was reported yesterday that Sanusi denied being slapped with a RM500,000 compound by the state Land and Mines Office last October in his capacity as the MBI chairman.
He also explained that the MBI was not fined by the agency for stealing rare earth minerals at the forest farming project site.
Sanusi had explained that the compound for the rare earth minerals theft was issued to a man from Kuala Krai, Kelantan who had trespassed onto the site and committed illegal mining.
The compound against MBI, according to Sanusi, was issued as the company holds the land permit from the State Forestry Department.
On Saturday, Saifuddin, who is also Pakatan Harapan secretary-general during a "Himpunan Jelajah Madani" in Gurun, claimed that Sanusi was slapped with a RM500,000 compound by the state Land and Mines Office in connection with rare earth mining theft case in Sik.
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