Saifuddin said the criticism by Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor was baseless rhetoric, and Sanusi should “look at the facts”, including Anwar’s arrest for championing the poor.

“The first time he was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) was because he wanted to raise the issue of poverty in Baling,” he said in a Facebook post, referring to the arrest in 1974.

Saifuddin said the then government cracked down on student leaders 49 years ago for supporting the farmers’ protest in Kedah.

Sanusi recently accused the prime minister of making “use” of the poor and dismissed Anwar’s concerns about the poor as being mere talk.

Saifuddin, who is also the PKR secretary-general, rubbished Sanusi’s claims that Anwar did not understand poverty just because he studied at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar and had begun his political career in Umno.

“After graduating from Universiti Malaya, he established Yayasan Anda Akademik at Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur, which offered opportunities to students from poor families.”

Saifuddin also said that in the first week of becoming prime minister, Anwar had announced cash assistance for padi farmers on the verge of becoming destitute.

He went on to claim that Sanusi’s questioning of Penang’s sovereignty and the attack on Anwar were just tactics to divert the people’s anger from the water woes in the state.