Police have recorded a statement from Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor on his alleged standard operating procedure (SOP) violation in visiting a vehicle showroom in Juru last Friday.
Seberang Prai Tengah district police chief Assistant Commissioner Shafee Abd Samad said besides the Menteri Besar, police also recorded the statement of four other individuals to assist in a probe into the matter.
“For now, we have recorded the statement of five people, including the Menteri Besar. Action is being taken to complete investigation into the matter.
“When we wrap up the investigation paper (IP), we will refer it to the Deputy Public Prosecutor’s Office for the next course of action,” he said.
The IP was opened under Section 269 of the Penal Code and Regulation 17(1) of the Disease Prevention Measure and Control Act 2021.
Since Saturday, social media has been abuzz with photos and videos of a salesman and several individuals, believed to be Muhammad Sanusi, who allegedly test drove a car at the centre.
This was despite the country now being placed under a two-week total lockdown.
The posting, on several Facebook pages, received condemnation from various quarters, questioning how the Menteri Besar could go for a test drive when vehicle sales centres were not part of the essential services allowed to operate during the total lockdown.
Muhammad Sanusi reiterated that no vehicle test drive took place as he was in Autocity Juru to buy food from a convenience store in the area.
He said that he was prepared to be investigated and willing to face the legal process in the event his action was deemed to violate the SOP on movement restrictions.
“If the police find that I have done something wrong, I’m sure the punishment won’t be a death penalty.
“I will probably be given a fine and I will pay that fine. If the car salesman is also given a compound, then I will pay his fine too.
“If anyone is given a fine for what I did, I will pay their fine,” he was quoted as saying. According to Sanusi, he did not have any intentions of buying the said Ford Raptor, claiming he was just enthralled by the looks of it in the display room while he was buying lunch nearby.
“I did not test drive the car, only the salesman drove it.
“After the drive, we went and looked at other variants of the car, but I never entered any of them. When the car door of the second car was opened, that’s when I saw someone taking our picture,” he said.
He said that he “forgave” the woman who took the photos of him, which later implicated the mentri besar after they went viral online.
“It’s possible to ask nicely about what happened during the time and I could have answered nicely too. I didn’t even realise when she turned and took photos of the vehicle I was using to head to Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
Yesterday, Kedah Political Secretary Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden had denied that Sanusi broke MCO 3.0 regulations by driving the test car at a car showroom.
Sanusi was caught in action after his luxury Toyota Vellfire minivan, which was designated as the Kedah mentri besar’s vehicle despite being owned by the utility provider Syarikat Air Darul Aman, was seen in front of the auto shop.