Sanusi failed to appear at a ceramah in Sungai Petani last night to support Perikatan Nasional’s Bukit Selambau candidate Azizan Hamzah.

Afnan announced at the end of his speech that Sanusi would not be showing up as he had been advised not to do so after attending a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, reported China Press.

He added that Sanusi’s absence at the ceramah was to protect him and prevent him from “falling into someone’s trap”.

In response to the incident, the home minister said that Sanusi was merely creating an illusion that he was being made a “victim”, so that the public would think that his safety had been threatened.

Saifuddin also noted that Sanusi had been “quiet” for the past two days.

He said that Afnan should alert the authorities and let them open an investigation into the matter.

Sanusi, who is PN’s election director, was also absent from a programme in Padang Serai on Saturday night.