KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — Caretaker Kedah menteri besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has said that he will take action against Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail over allegations of his involvement in the theft of rare earth minerals.
He has ordered his officers to lodge a police report against Saifuddin, New Straits Times reported yesterday.
In the news report, Sanusi had claimed that Saifuddin’s remarks during the “Jelajah Perpaduan Madani” event in Gurun on Saturday were malicious and slanderous.
“I have ordered my officers to lodge a police report and subsequent legal action will be taken based on existing laws.
“I don’t care whether he is a minister or not, I will take a suit (against Saifuddin). It was clear cut that he had accused me of being a thief,” Sanusi told a press conference in Bandar Baharu, Kedah after presenting land titles to recipients at the land and district office there.
Sanusi, who is also Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) chairman, explained that MBI was not issued a compound for stealing rare earth minerals.
He claimed that the compound was actually issued to another party. The state-owned company was just the holder of a permit for a forest farming project at the site.
“The land belongs to the State Forestry Department, so when MBI wanted to use the land, it applied for a permit from the department. MBI then entered a joint venture with a company to develop the forest farming project and, in fact, the company was not the one slapped with the compound.
“The one that was slapped with the compound was a third party, which trespassed into the site and stole the rare earth minerals. The man from Kuala Krai, Kelantan, was slapped with a maximum compound of RM500,000 and he paid the amount in October 2022,” he said.
Sanusi added that all findings on the rare earth mineral theft had been tabled in the previous state assembly sitting.
“I have never received any notice of compound (as claimed by Saifuddin). He said I was sued, it was not meant for campaigning but to showcase his mean intention,” he said.
On Friday, Saifuddin claimed that Sanusi was fined RM500,000 last year, allegedly for stealing rare earth elements (REE).
Saifuddin reportedly said the Lands and Mines Offices fined Sanusi as the MBI chairman of Kedah because of activities carried out in the district of Sik.
Citing a letter sent to Sanusi, Saifuddin had claimed that the letter, signed by the state Lands and Mines Department director Datuk Fauzi Mustaffa dated October 4, 2022, was addressed to the MBI chairman and the compound was issued under Section 426(1) of the National Land Code.
