Sabah governor never received 33 SDs or requests to meet Musa, says private secretary

Pix of Abinan Asli courtesy of Information Department.

KOTA KINABALU: The private secretary to Sabah’s Tuan Yang Terutama (TYT) has issued a statement to address the baseless claims made by Gerakan Kuasa Rakyat Malaysia (G57) that are making its rounds on social media.

Abinan Asli said the governor Tun Juhar Mahiruddin never received the 33 statutory declarations (SDs) from assemblymen who backed Tan Sri Musa Aman, as claimed by G57 protem chairman Zulkarnain Mahdar.

The Istana Negeri also did not receive any formal or informal requests from Musa’s camp to meet up with TYT, he said in the statement issued on Thursday (Aug 6).

“TYT has instructed me to give clarification following statements by Zulkarnain, which are also being viralled in social media and came out in a local daily on Aug 6.

“Musa and several assemblymen who sided with him tried to enter the Istana Negeri by force on July 30 around 3.50pm without official request and was blocked by the police.

“Istana Negeri has never instructed the police to prevent Musa’s camp from entering the Istana premises initially, but the police roadblock was carried out to avoid any untoward incidents.

“Taking into consideration the tense situation at the time and (the fact that) there was no more need for Musa’s camp to meet the TYT as the state assembly had been dissolved earlier that day, TYT did not consent for the group to enter Istana Negeri and meet him, ” Abinan explained.

Zulkarnain lodged a complaint with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Putrajaya on Wednesday (Aug 5), claiming that Juhar had abused his power in giving consent to dissolve the state assembly as requested by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

Parti Warisan Sabah legal bureau afterwards lodged a police report in Kota Kinabalu against Zulkarnain over his allegations.

Warisan’s Datuk Liew Vui Keong, who was former de-facto law minister, was quoted saying that the state assembly dissolution was done properly by law, and the governor had the choice whether or not to consent to the dissolution.

Abinan added that Juhar expressed regret over the circulated incorrect information involving him.

“TYT wishes to remind the people to remain calm and not simply be influenced by fake news online, as well as refrain from making statements that could create tension or public discord.

“Tun Juhar called on the people of Sabah to continue fostering harmony in this diverse state, ” Abinan added.