He said Samsuri should be well aware that as a menteri besar, he was accorded with a security detail at all times, and that any additional “surveillance” would be unnecessary.

“As the menteri besar, he is chaperoned by police officers for safety purposes at all times. There is no need to ‘spy’ on him as the police are always with him.

“I was personally listed (under surveillance) from 2000 to 2004. I considered it part of the authorities’ duty in carrying out their responsibilities.

“I gave full cooperation and respected their role. After a certain period, my name was removed from the list,” he told FMT.

Saifuddin said all “VVIPs” in the country are constantly under surveillance for security reasons, and Samsuri was no exception.

“And while other VVIPs understand the situation, Samsuri is choosing to make it an issue,” he said.

Earlier today, Samsuri claimed he was placed under a special travel watch known as a “travel control order” (TCO), which he said marked him as a person of risk in the country’s border control systems.

He claimed that the places he went, people he met, and topics of conversations were reported by a specific branch to the main operator.

The PAS vice-president also claimed that his phone was “100%” being tapped, and that another prominent opposition figure had also been slapped with a TCO.

Saifuddin brushed off Samsuri’s phone-tapping claim, saying: “That is his perception. In reality, there is no necessity for us to do so.”