THERE will be no extension of the deadline for Musa Aman to take his oath as the Sibuga assemblyman, said Sabah assembly speaker Syed Abbas Syed Ali, today. 

Syed Abbas said Musa had 90 days from the first assembly sitting from June 11 to be sworn in – which was already ample time for the former Sabah chief minister to take his oath.

“If he returns to Sabah (in time to be sworn in), he may do it in front of me or my deputies,” he said, adding that such a procedure was allowed by law.

Musa, who is in London for medical treatment, applied to the speaker on July 30 to extend the deadline for his swearing in.

Syed Abbas said the denial of Musa’s application meant “he has until September 11 to take his oath as the Sibuga assemblyman, and if he fails to do so the seat will be declared vacant.”

Syed Abbas cited Article 22(2) of the state constitution which stated that the speaker would declare a seat won by an elected representative vacant if the representative failed to take his oath of duty within three months of the first assembly sitting. 

He said the provision to declare a seat vacant if the assemblyman was absent from three sittings in a row was not applicable in Musa’s case as that applied to elected reps who had taken their oaths. – August 14, 2018.