ALOR STAR: Former Kedah menteri besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah has called on Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor to cease straining ties between the state and federal government.
Bashah said the current Kedah MB's claim yesterday that he was being barred from attending federal government programmes had done nothing to help the development of the state.
"As a former menteri besar myself, it should not really matter who or which party is leading the federal government. What matters is the welfare of the people.
"The people have made their decision, we have to accept the fact and take the responsibility to preserve good relationships between state and federal government.
"He does not have to come out and make such claims publicly, as the state's top leader, he's supposed to prioritise the people," he told reporters after handing out Bubur Lambuk to the public here today.
Also present were Kedah Pakatan Harapan chairman Datuk Mahfuz Omar and PKR Suka Menanti assemblyman Datuk Zamri Yusuf.
Yesterday, Sanusi, in a Facebook post, had claimed that he was being barred from federal government programmes in his own state.
He claimed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Cabinet had decided to bar him from all federal government functions, including the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (Lima) 2023 exhibition in May.
Meanwhile, Zamri said Sanusi's claims were merely baseless accusations in order to portray himself as "a hero fighting against an alleged cruel government."
"I have checked with several ministers and none of them had actually barred him from joining the programmes, I have no idea where his claims came from.
"In most of the issues that have been raised, I believe he is merely creating a narrative as if he is fighting against oppression and he is the people's hero.
"He had 'bouts' with the Penang government and he also had squabbles with Johor over football, what he is trying to do is gain sympathy from the people, as if he is being oppressed," he added.
Zamri added Sanusi's confrontational stance is the reason why the state government had failed to get their programmes approved by the federal government.
"He wants to claim that the federal government is cruel but look at Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu, all of which received proper allocations. Sanusi should have opted to maintain good relations instead," he added.
