KOTA KINABALU – Tan Sri Musa Aman said he is not to blame for the recent surge in Covid-19 infections, instead pointing to Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal for refusing to be a “gentleman” and hand over power in late July.
In an open letter, Musa said the Warisan president’s move to dissolve the state assembly, paving the way for an election, was ultimately what led to the country’s third coronavirus wave.
“Dissatisfied with their election loss, today, we see an onslaught of finger-pointing by Warisan Plus and Pakatan Harapan Plus leaders, including DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, who conveniently stated that it was my attempt to overthrow Shafie that led to the state election.
“I am compelled to write this letter to set the record straight on the root cause of the escalation in Covid-19 cases in Malaysia, and open the people’s eyes to the lies and slander perpetrated by a well-oiled propaganda machine called Warisan Plus.
“Warisan Plus should admit to being the real reason for the spike in Covid-19 cases in Sabah and the rest of the nation instead of blaming me and the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government.”
In July, Musa claimed that Shafie had lost majority support and urged the then chief minister to step down. However, the latter refused.
The Shafie-led Warisan Plus alliance lost to GRS – comprising Bersatu, Umno, Sabah Star and Parti Bersatu Sabah – by 32 to 41 seats.
DAP lawmaker Teresa Kok, too, has accused Musa of the “original sin” of triggering the September 26 state election, and trying to form a backdoor government.
In response, the former chief minister said it was Pakatan Harapan that supported Shafie’s push for fresh polls.
“It is Shafie, who, in a widely circulated video, said he would rather die than hand back power to me, which is ironic because he was the one who stole the government from us in the first place, right after the 14th general election.
“Shafie made his choice. It was wrong and selfish. Unlike Shafie, other menteris besar and chief ministers had acted responsibly and honourably – they resigned.
“None of these leaders chose to endanger the (lives of) citizens in their respective states.”
He added that he had instructed his lawyers to help prevent the election from being held, given the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our lead counsel pleaded this at length at both the Court of Appeal and Federal Court, and begged the court to stay the election as we did not want to endanger the lives of our people.
“However, counsel representing the former chief minister and Sabah government argued strongly against us and said it was a desperate argument to stop the election.” – The Vibes, October 19, 2020
