Salleh (wearing glasses) hugging Musa as he arrived at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
KOTA KINABALU: A former chief minister urges Sabahans to rally behind Tun Musa Aman as the 11th Sabah Yang di-Pertua Negeri (TYT).
Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak said Musa, who is the state’s longest-serving chief minister from 2003 to 2018, will bring stability to Sabah which has been rocked by secretly filmed videos recently, referring to the alleged corruption scandal implicating several assemblymen.
“The former chief minister will bring his vast administrative experience and steady the political fluidity in the state,” he said in a statement here on Wednesday (Dec 18).
Salleh, who is also Sabah Umno treasurer, said a chief minister becoming Sabah TYT was not unusual as there were four politicians who had achieved the distinction.
The Usukan assemblyman said there were even two Sabahans who after being appointed as the TYT became Sabah chief ministers.
“We have such a unique history. It shows that Sabah has sought stability,“ said Salleh after greeting Musa at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport here on Wednesday.
Musa returned to Sabah after receiving the instrument of appointment as Sabah Governor from His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.
Musa, 73, will replace Tun Juhar Mahiruddin after the latter’s term as the 10th Sabah TYT ends on Dec 31.
Sabah's first TYT Tun Mustapha Harun became chief minister in 1967 while Sabah's first chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens became TYT in 1973.
When Stephens stepped down as TYT, he joined politics and his party won the Sabah polls in 1976 and he subsequently became chief minister for the second time.
Sabah's fourth chief minister Tun Mohammad Said Keruak became the seventh TYT in 1987.
Tun Sakaran Dandai, who was elected chief minister in 1994, was appointed as TYT a year later.
