PARTI Warisan Sabah president Shafie Apdal today claimed that Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman made his riches only after joining Umno, and slammed the Umno leader for neglecting the plight of a large population of Sabahans, who remain impoverished.

“I know Musa Aman,” Shafie told a gathering of some 2,000 supporters at his home near the coastal town of Semporna.

Shafie said Musa was “not rich” before he joined Umno.

“When we accepted him into Umno, he didn’t have a jet, he didn’t have riches,” Shafie said.

“Now in Sabah, the people of Semporna, Kudat and Libaran are all poor. The only one who is rich is Musa Aman,” he said.

Shafie, who is being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over the alleged embezzlement of RM1.5 billion meant for rural development projects in Sabah, has promised to reveal information about Musa when he returns to Parliament. 

The feud between Shafie and Musa traces back to the time when both were fellow Umno leaders. Both men had gone up against each other for the post of Sabah chief minister in 2008, and then for the position of Umno vice-president in 2013.

Shafie, who has been Semporna member of parliament since 1995, told his supporters that one of the projects under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, which he led from 2009 to 2015, was awarded to a contractor with links to Musa following an open tender.

“Projects like the water treatment plant in Sungai Intan. Sungai Intan was developed so that water supply to Semporna could improve. We held an open tender. When we held an open tender, the one who got it was related to Musa Aman. Not related to me.

“Do they think I requested money from him (to approve the contract)? Wallahi! I didn’t ask for money from his (Musa) contractor,” said Shafie.

The plant, worth more than RM40 million, is reportedly one of the projects currently being investigated by the MACC. – October 28, 2017.