DESPITE the corruption allegations hurled against former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman, his return on Wednesday could see the Warisan-led Sabah government being more cautious about state policies.

Sabah Umno Youth chief Abdul Aziz Julkarnain said Musa’s return marks the return of the “rightful chief minister”, who like Warisan president Shafie Apdal had been legally appointed as the chief minister.

“We don’t view this as a return of a great Umno leader, but that of a legitimate chief minister who had been constitutionally appointed.

“Musa’s return brings about a clear message that the rule of law must be upheld and respected by the present (Warisan) government,” he said.

Aziz was referring to Musa’s legal challenge against Shafie over who was the rightful chief minister, with Musa already having won the first round after the Sabah court rejected Shafie’s application to strike out the challenge.

The results of the 14th general election caused a stalemate in Sabah, with Musa first claiming majority in the state assembly and then proceeding to getting himself sworn in as chief minister on May 10.

However, this was quickly countered by Shafie, who commanded a bigger majority after several assemblymen defected to his side. He was then sworn in as chief minister on May 12.

Aziz said Musa will strengthen Gabungan Bersatu Sabah (GBS), a coalition formed after GE14 to replace BN, and will trigger the return of leaders from Umno and former BN component parties, even if Musa risk losing his challenge against Shafie.

“When Musa arrived at the airport, I noticed several assemblymen who had abandoned Umno had turned up to welcome his arrival.

“For one, I noticed Saddi Abdul Rahman (the Sukau assemblyman who left Umno to be an independent assemblyman) was there,” he said.

Reports also noted that Pitas assemblyman Bolkiah Ismail, who also left Umno, earlier turned up at the airport to catch a glimpse of Musa.

Aziz said the odds now no longer favour the Warisan-Pakatan Harapan-Upko regime which is saddled with controversies, barely 100 days in power.

He said this include the appointment of “outsides” into senior administrative positions and the U-turning on several projects.

“For example, giving out special working passes to thousands of illegal immigrants, which is clearly in violation of the Immigration Act, affecting the sovereignty of the country,” said Aziz.

Given that a large number of the migrant population in Sabah comes from the Southern Philippines, Aziz said the government’s action may lead to another Lahad Datu-style incursion.

Aziz also said that the Warisan-led government had also breached state laws by appointing an engineer from a private company to head the Sabah Water Department and the appointment of a timber tycoon as Sandakan Municipal Council president.

He was referring to the appointments of Amarjit Singh as Sabah Water Department director and Sarawakian-born and Sabah permanent resident Hu Chang Lik @ Peter Hii as the president of the Sandakan Municipal Council.

He said this goes against the Warisan slogan “Sabahans for Sabah”.

Political analyst Amde Sidek, meanwhile, said Musa has all the resources and support to keep the Warisan-led government in check, but questioned whether he is bold or healthy enough to put up a good fight against them.

“There is no doubt that Musa has the financial resources to do it. His party mates in Umno also still respect him,” he said.

According to him, Musa will try to woo several leaders from the ruling parties to join the newly formed Gabungan Bersatu Sabah coalition, saying the time is right due to some internal issues.

“I spoke to some assemblymen and many of them haven’t got their assemblymen salaries and this is why there are rumours that some may fall out from the Warisan-PH-Upko group.

“I attended some opposition talks recently and some of them raised issues with the bank loans they had to pay, it could be easy for them to fall out and join GBS,” he said.

Furthermore, Amde said Shafie’s association with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will also prove to be a problem due to the widespread belief held by Sabahans that the prime minister will not return Sabah’s autonomy rights. – September 7, 2018.