Musa must take oath within three months
KOTA KINABALU: Tan Sri Musa Aman has to take his oath as a state assemblyman (for Sungai Sibuga) within three months from June 11 when the Sabah Legislative Assembly first sat, according to former assembly deputy speaker Datuk 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 the State 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 Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) secretary-general, told Bernama yesterday.
(Article 22 (2) of the Constitution of the State of Sabah states that if a member has not taken his seat within three months from the date on which the State Legislative Assembly first sits after his election or appointment, or within such further period as the assembly may allow, his seat shall become vacant.)
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 Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan who is understood to be performing the umrah (minor haj).
On June 11, forty-three elected representatives from Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) and its partners, namely PKR, DAP and UPKO, were sworn in as state assemblymen at the first meeting before Speaker Datuk Syed Abas Syed Ali in the State Assembly building in Likas near here.
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 the Barisan Nasional (BN), namely Parti Bersatu Sabah, Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Bersatu Organisation (UPKO) and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) as well as the Solidariti Party, which supported Musa as the Sabah BN chairman, were absent at the first sitting of the assembly.
But on the next day (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 the Solidariti Party 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 Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
As a result, Mohd 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 Dipertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin who claimed to have been criminally intimidated by Musa, which led the police initiating an investigation.
The Sabah Police had reportedly said that they have yet to complete the investigation because they have not been able to record Musa's statement and were still trying to determine his whereabouts.
On May 17, Musa filed a writ of summons against Tun Juhar and Mohd Shafie, seeking a declaration that he (Musa) remains the legitimate chief minister of Sabah.
The writ also sought a declaration that the swearingin of Mohd Shafie as the Chief Minister by Tun Juhar was unlawful.
The writ was filed by Messrs F.T. Ahmad and Co, who represented Musa, and Tun Juhar and Mohd Shafie were named as the first and second respondents, respectively.
It is learned that the case is scheduled for mention on July 9. -