Musa urges Federal Court to expedite rightful Sabah CM hearing

Musa Aman, seen here at the Palace of Justice, said he was disappointed by the Court of Appeal’s verdict. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: Former chief minister Musa Aman has urged the Federal Court to expedite the hearing of his appeal to be declared the rightful chief minister.

This comes after the Court of Appeal today dismissed an appeal by him and 32 other incumbent Sabah assemblymen, in a separate case, to challenge the consent given by governor Juhar Mahiruddin to dissolve the state legislative assembly.

Musa said he and the other incumbent elected representatives were disappointed by the Court of Appeal’s verdict.

“Nevertheless, we respect the decision of the court,” he said in a statement here today.

But he said the Federal Court had recently “taken cognizance” that his appointment as the Sabah chief minister on May 10, 2018 “was valid and in accordance with the Sabah constitution”.

He said the Federal Court ruling on Aug 26, via its written judgement dated Sept 1, held that there were constitutional questions of grave importance that must be heard by the court.

This includes how the Sabah governor (TYT) had purportedly dismissed Musa as the chief minister and whether the appointment of Shafie Apdal as his successor was null and void.

Musa said the matter was now pending before the Federal Court where his lawyers had sought an early hearing date.

“Therefore, l implore Yang Amat Arif Chief Justice of Malaysia to give me a much earlier date of hearing than what has been given.

“As this would have a direct bearing on this present case, if the Federal Court was to hear the rightful chief minister case after the nomination day (Sept 12), it is akin to closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

“The truth must be revealed and justice must prevail. Justice delayed is justice denied.”

The court on Aug 26, in a majority 2-1 ruling, had allowed Musa’s leave application seeking a declaration that he was the rightful Sabah chief minister after the conclusion of the 15th state election in 2018.

In the hearing, judge Abdul Rahman Sebli said the merit of the appeal by Musa and former Tamparuli assemblyman Jahid Jahim must be heard as the questions of law posed were of grave importance.

“This ought to be solved by the apex court and cannot be left hanging, ” he had said.

Rahman said the people of Sabah had the right to know whether Musa’s removal was done in accordance with the Sabah constitution. Judge Zabariah Mohd Yusof concurred with Rahman.

Bench chairman Mohd Zawawi Salleh, who was in the minority, said the applicants had failed to cross the threshold under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act for the appeal to be heard.

In his statement, Musa said he had always maintained that his removal was unconstitutional.

“Thus, whoever was sworn in after my questionable removal was and is nothing more than a usurper who should not be allowed to exercise and carry out the lawful functions of the CM of Sabah.

“To allow such a person to exercise the constitutional duties of the CM will have far reaching ramifications as what we are seeing at the moment,” he said.

According to him, it was for this reason that when Shafie requested for the dissolution of the Sabah state legislative assembly he filed an application to challenge the dissolution.

“How could a person whose status is still questionable request from the TYT for a dissolution of the assembly? How could the TYT act on the request of someone whose appointment had and is still being challenged in the first place?” Musa asked.

“It is worth reminding the public that the rulers must at all times rise above politics. Their authority, including the TYT of Sabah, is not one to be exercised in aid of a certain political agenda of a person whose appointment is questionable.

“The public must be reminded that this current case is closely related to the earlier matter which is now before the Federal Court.”

Musa said the Federal Court granted leave in respect of 10 questions which sought to resolve issues pertaining to his unconstitutional dismissal as the rightful Sabah chief minister.

“These issues are of grave importance to the people of Sabah and must be resolved on an urgent basis before any proposed election as they would have direct consequences on the lawfulness of the elections.

“Hence, I am seeking for my appeal on the rightful chief minister case to be heard expeditiously,” he said. - FMT