Exactly why was the sultan so mad and furious to the extent that he refuses to forgive the PAS warlord? In fact, the monarch had summoned Selangor PAS commissioner Ahmad Yunus Hairi and Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan to his palace to express his displeasure and anger. The sultan was mad not only at Sanusi’s insult, but also his defiance in the half-baked apology.

Sanusi’s sewer mouth saw him spewing insults on Sultan Sharafuddin during a recent “ceramah” (campaign speech) when he rudely questioned the monarch’s wisdom over his choice of Amirudin Shari as Selangor Chief Minister. Making a comparison between the Kedah and Selangor sultans, Sanusi said the Kedah ruler would not have appointed someone like Amirudin.

Essentially, Sanusi has belittled, mocked and insulted the Selangor Sultan’s intelligence. His comparison also suggests that the Kedah ruler was wise whilst the Selangor sultan was stupid. Crucially, the PAS national election director was seen as interfering in the internal affairs of Selangor, where it’s the prerogative of the Sultan to appoint a “Menteri Besar” (Chief Minister).

Worse, when caught with his pants down, the defiant warlord of Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS – Parti Islam Se-Malaysia) reluctantly apologized to the sultan, but not before lying and spinning that his statements had been “spun” to defame him. To divert attention, Sanusi conveniently blamed the Anwar-led unity government, even though it was the sultan who wanted him punished.

Heck, extremist PAS has even defended the foul-mouthed man by describing him as a God’s gift sent by Allah. To further insult the Selangor Sultan, Sanusi had sought his forgiveness, but at the same time refused to admit any wrongdoing. Even then, the apology was tendered only after the Selangor Council of the Royal Court demanded Sanusi to publicly issue a public apology.

The arrogant Kedah chief executive, who previously had demolished Hindu temples and made jokes about it, was sending a message to Malay Muslims that he was not sorry, let alone afraid, of offending and humiliating the Malay Sultan. He was adamant that Sultan Sharafuddin was dumb for appointing Amirudin as Selangor Chief Minister. Hence, Sanusi apologized without admitting his mistakes.

In the past, PAS “Pak Lebai” had always gotten away with a slap on the wrist even when they dangerously played 3R (race, religion and royalty) cards. This round, however, the religious fanatics have crossed the red line by slapping the face of Sultan Selangor and pretended it was not their fault. Sanusi chewed more than he can bite, and he thought he could get away with it.

Not only Mr Sanusi thought he could scam gullible Malays with religious rhetoric, he actually believed he could make a fool out of the Malay Ruler. Had the sultan decided to forgive him, it would embolden – even encourage – the Islamist party to disrespect and humiliate the country’s royal institution again in the future. If PAS is allowed to mock the sultan dumb, what else it would not dare do?

Four days after an investigation was launched into his speech, the Kedah chief minister was charged under the Sedition Act on Tuesday (July 18) – accused of uttering a seditious statement that could incite disloyalty to the Rulers. If convicted, he could be slapped with a maximum three years’ imprisonment or a RM5,000 fine or both. It could end his political career prematurely.

But even before Sanusi was charged, he continued to challenge the authorities and the law. He deliberately rejected multiple phone calls from the police despite knowing that he is to be charged. The plan was to claim he did not know about the charges, therefore, the only way to play dumb is to not answer calls from the police, who were trying a softer approach instead of arresting him.