By Sheeda Fathil
SHAH ALAM, Feb 25 — Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari has accepted an apology from Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor over defamatory claims by the latter on the Sungai Klang river cleanup project.
Amirudin said the case is resolved and reminded all parties to be more cautious when presenting facts to avoid misleading the public.
“Today was the first day of the trial, and we have reached an agreement to resolve the matter with an apology (by the defendant) delivered in open court.
“Everyone must be mindful and careful when presenting facts to avoid misleading the public.
“The case was resolved according to my request for an apology. That was all I asked for, and ultimately, it was granted,” he told reporters outside the High Court here today.
Amirudin also expressed thanks that Sanusi’s allegations were proven baseless.
[caption id="attachment_391379" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor speaks to reporters outside the Shah Alam High Court after Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari settled his defamation suit against Sanusi, on February 26, 2025. — Picture by AHMAD ZAKKI JILAN/MEDIA SELANGOR[/caption]
Earlier, Amirudin’s defamation suit against Sanusi was amicably settled after the Kedah Menteri Besar issued a public apology in the High Court this morning.
Amirudin had filed a suit against Sanusi on August 30, 2023, over allegations of a scandal linking the Selangor Menteri Besar to Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan.
The suit followed Sanusi’s claims that Amirudin had handed over 243ha of land in Selangor to Tan.
Sanusi had also alleged that Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated), or MBI, would suffer losses of up to RM180 million if Tan was awarded the RM10 billion river project.
On August 9, 2023, Amirudin’s legal team issued a letter of demand to his Kedah counterpart, requiring him to apologise within 48 hours and pay RM10 million for his defamatory remarks.
The letter of demand referred to a speech Sanusi gave during the Jelajah Mega PN Best “Sayangi Kedah Sejahtera” event in Kedah on August 2, 2023, in which he alleged a scandal between Amirudin and Tan regarding a Sungai Klang project under the Selangor Maritime Gateway initiative.
The letter said Sanusi’s remarks were intended to damage Amirudin’s reputation as Selangor Menteri Besar and were politically motivated to undermine him ahead of the 2023 state elections on August 12, 2023.
Sanusi was given a 48-hour deadline in the legal letter to retract his alleged defamatory remarks and publish an apology in English, Malay, and Chinese newspapers, along with all his social media accounts.
The letter also demanded a written assurance that he would not repeat similar remarks, RM10 million in compensation for the “false and malicious allegations” against Amirudin, and RM100,000 to cover Amirudin’s legal costs.
