MUSA AMAN RUNS OUT OF TIME: IF HIGH-FLYING EX-CM TURNED FUGITIVE REFUSES TO RETURN HOME TO TAKE HIS OATH AS ASSEMBLYMAN, HIS SEAT WILL BE DECLARED VACANT

MUSA Aman has to take his oath as the state assemblyman for Sungai Sibuga within three months from June 11, when the Sabah legislative assembly first sat, according to former assembly deputy speaker Johny Mositun.

He said Musa’s failure to do so could result in the seat being declared vacant.

“According to Article 22(2) of the constitution of Sabah, a seat won by an elected  representative in the 14th general election can be declared vacant by the speaker if the elected representative fails to take the oath as a member of the Sabah state assembly within three months after the assembly first sat on June 11,” Mositun, who is also PBS secretary-general, told Bernama today.

Musa’s lawyer said his client was undergoing medical treatment at an undisclosed location.

Another elected representative who has yet to take his oath is Apas state assemblyman Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan, who is understood to be performing the umrah.

On June 11, forty-three elected representatives from Parti Warisan Sabah and its partners,  PKR, DAP and Upko, were sworn in as state assemblymen at the first meeting before speaker Syed Abas Syed Ali in the state assembly building in Likas near Kota Kinabalu.

Thirty-nine of the assemblymen were elected by the people in the 14th general election and the rest were appointed.

Thirty-three of the 39 assemblymen are from Warisan, DAP, PKR, and Upko while the other six are Umno assemblymen who had quit the party.

However, 21 elected representatives from Umno and its former colleagues in Barisan Nasional, namely PBS, Upko, and PBRS, as well as STAR, which supported Musa as the Sabah BN chairman, were absent at the first sitting of the assembly.

But on June 12, 19 of the 21 elected representatives who were in favour of Musa were sworn in as members of the assembly before the speaker at his office in the Sabah state assembly building.

On May 10, Musa was sworn as the chief minister of Sabah at Istana Negeri after he secured a simple majority when STAR backed him to enable him to form a coalition government.

However, Musa’s simple majority vanished when Upko and some of its elected representatives quit BN to back Warisan, led by Mohd Shafie Apdal.

As a result, Shafie was sworn in as the chief minister of Sabah at Istana Negara on May 12 and a legal tussle erupted over the post of chief minister.

The situation became more complex after a police report was made by Sabah Yang di-Pertua Negeri Juhar Mahiruddin, who said he was criminally intimidated by Musa, which led the police to initiate an investigation.

The Sabah police have reportedly said that they have yet to complete the investigation because they have not been able to record Musa’s statement and are still trying to determine his whereabouts.

On May 17, Musa filed a writ of summons against Juhar and Shafie, seeking a declaration that he (Musa) remains the legitimate chief minister of Sabah.

The writ also sought a declaration that the swearing-in of Shafie as chief minister by Juhar was unlawful.

The writ was filed by Messrs F.T. Ahmad and Co, who represented Musa, and Juhar and Shafie were named as the first and second respondents, respectively.

It is learnt that the case is scheduled for mention on July 9.

– Bernama