KOTA KINABALU – Former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, who has been under the radar following a failed bid a year ago to reclaim power, recently broke his silence to lay bare facts from the courts exonerating him of graft charges.
In a statement issued amid the current political turmoil, he claimed – without mentioning any names – that there are individuals and politicians smearing him over corruption charges that he has been cleared of twice.
Warding away “slanderous accusations”, the former Sabah Umno chief – who led the state from 2003 to 2018 – stressed that contributions in question received by him were meant for the party and were not for personal purposes.
“Perhaps there are some who are still unhappy with the legal outcome of my case because it is not aligned with their political narratives and, as such, have conveniently created a diversion in a continued attempt to tarnish my name,” the Sibuga assemblyman said in a statement.
“The tactic used is none other than questioning the outcome of my court case, of which I was acquitted by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on June 9, 2020.”
Musa pointed to an old case based on allegations made 16 years ago. He said they were already probed thoroughly by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
The outcome of the investigations by both countries, which took nearly three years, found that I have not committed any offence.
He said he was investigated by both agencies from 2008 until 2011, adding that he had given full cooperation to both authorities.
Musa said he was found to have not committed any corruption and the funds, which were part of the probe, were political donations.
“This was verified by then MACC investigation division director Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali – and this outcome was then communicated to ICAC via a letter dated September, 2011.
He noted that ICAC had also carried out their own independent investigation.
“After completing its investigation, the ICAC issued a letter dated December 22, 2011, which stated that the investigation was completed and no further action will be taken against me,” he said.
“The ICAC’s findings clearly shows that I was not involved in any corrupt activities and up to this day there are no further investigations initiated by ICAC against me,” said Musa.
He added that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) also found no graft elements of money laundering.
Further to this, Musa said the MACC Operation Assessment Panel also concurred with the decision based on the findings of the investigation.
“This clearly proves that the decision was duly deliberated and made in accordance with the proper legal channels.
“The case in question was also raised in Parliament, whereby former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Legal Affairs) Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz – who was then in the role – explained that the AGC had concluded that no corrupt element was proven against me,” said Musa.
He said all the probe and legal process complied and supported the conclusion that he did not solicit or receive any bribes.
Charges in bad faith ‘reek of political persecution’
Musa also maintained that he was the legitimate chief minister after the 14th general election in May 2018.
He said that the Sabah Governor Tun Datuk Seri Juhar Mahiruddin – for reasons only known to him – had appointed Warisan president and Senallang state rep Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal as chief minister to replace him.
“This was done even though I did not resign and still commanded the majority of support in the Sabah state assembly back then,” he claimed.
Musa added that he was then arrested and charged in court on November 5, 2018, despite having been cleared by ICAC and MACC much earlier.
“This incident was only two days prior to the announcement of the decision with regards to my civil case against the head of state and Shafie (over Shafie’s appointment),” he said.
“This action has given political leverage to my political rivals directly and indirectly.
“Does this not indicate that the charges brought against me were made in bad faith and reeked of political persecution?”
Musa said he then filed two applications at the Kuala Lumpur High Court. The first, filed on February 12, 2020, was to strike out the charges against him, while the second was to refer certain constitutional questions to the Federal Court.
To support the first application, he had adduced all relevant and important documents in the supporting affidavit, including documents from ICAC in Hong Kong.
“Furthermore, my lawyers had also filed a further supporting affidavit affirmed by former attorney-general Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail,” he said.
I had raised the issues of political and mala fide prosecution, which is an abuse of the legal process.
“If the prosecution had continued with the charges, it may have exposed the government to a ‘malicious prosecution’ legal suit,” the former chief minister said.
Prosecution has ‘no new facts’
This fact was further strengthened when the deputy public prosecutor issued a statement of favourable fact to the defence under Section 51(A)(1)(c) of the Criminal Procedure Code confirming the decision made by Gani, Musa stressed.
The experienced politician said there were no new facts or issues brought up by the prosecution team as they had relied solely on the previous investigations conducted by ICAC and MACC which did not reveal any element of corruption.
Based on the reasons given in the striking out application, Musa said Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus Harun – together with the other deputy public prosecutors – had deliberated and considered the application seriously, objectively, and professionally, giving due consideration to the law and justice of the case.
Having deliberated on the matter, the prosecution informed the high court on June 9, 2020 that they were withdrawing all charges and would discontinue the prosecution against him pursuant to Section 254 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The presiding high court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin – having listened to the submissions by both parties and deliberated the relevant provisions of the law – proceeded to make an order to discharge and acquit from all charges against the former chief minister.
I pray that no person needs to go through and be subjected to such unfair treatment for political expediency.
“Neither should anyone continue to be the victim of baseless accusations and political vendetta having been cleared of any wrongdoing for the second time,” he said.
Musa said that his detractors should focus their energy and time in finding real solutions and contribute to overcome the surmounting problems associated with the pandemic instead of this continuous political lynching against him. – The Vibes, July 30, 2021
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