Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar al-Mahdzar said menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor should get his state executive council to obtain legal advice on his complaint.

“If the evidence warrants it, lawyers may advise Kedah to proceed under Article 4 of the Federal Constitution and institute a suit in the Federal Court.”

He said Penang could then file its defence for the dispute to be resolved by the apex court.

Syed Iskandar said if Sanusi continues to publicly vent his angry feelings against Penang, there was also nothing to stop Penang from instituting proceedings to obtain the appropriate relief.

He said Sanusi should not behave in a belligerent manner and turn his problems with Penang into a street brawl over water and land issues.

“He must learn to behave in a civilised manner,” he said.

Syed Iskandar said this in response to Sanusi who is now demanding RM100 million a year as “lease payment” for Penang island and Seberang Perai.

Sanusi said he wanted the annual payment from the federal government, paid on behalf of Penang, to be raised by RM90 million.

The payment had been set at RM10,000 for decades but was raised to RM10 million a year by the federal government from 2018.

During the colonial era, Penang island, and eventually Seberang Perai, was leased by the Kedah sultanate to the British in 1791 for 10,000 Spanish dollars.

However, Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy said earlier today that Sanusi’s claim had no basis as there was “no single clear historical document” that would attest that Kedah had leased Penang to the British.

Yesterday, Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government “will not pay anything to Kedah”.