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KOTA KINABALU: Former Prime Minister Musa Aman urged the Federal Court to speed up the hearing of his appeal to be declared the legitimate chief minister.
This comes after the Court of Appeal today dismissed an appeal by him and 32 other Sabah assembly members, in a separate case, to challenge the consent granted by Governor Juhar Mahiruddin to dissolve the state legislative assembly.
Musa said he and the other elected representatives in office were disappointed by the verdict of the Court of Appeals.
“However, we respect the decision of the court,” he said in a statement here today.
But he said the Federal Court had recently “learned” that his appointment as Sabah’s prime minister on May 10, 2018 “was valid and in accordance with the Sabah constitution.”
He said that the Federal Court ruling on August 26, through its written judgment of September 1, held that there were constitutional issues of great importance that must be heard by the court.
This includes how the governor of Sabah (TYT) had allegedly removed Musa as the prime minister and whether the appointment of Shafie Apdal as his successor was null and void.
Musa said the matter was pending in Federal Court, where his lawyers had requested an early hearing date.
“Therefore, I implore Yang Amat Arif, President of the Supreme Court of Malaysia, to give me a hearing date much earlier than has been given.
“As this would have a direct bearing on the present case, if the Federal Court heard the case of the legitimate prime minister after nomination day (September 12), it is similar to closing the stable door after the horse has left. fired.
“The truth must be revealed and justice must prevail. Justice delayed is justice denied. “
On August 26, the court, in a 2-1 majority ruling, had allowed Musa’s license application seeking a statement that he was the legitimate chief minister of Sabah after the conclusion of the 15 state elections in 2018. .
At the hearing, Judge Abdul Rahman Sebli said that the merit of the appeal by Musa and former Tamparuli Assemblyman Jahid Jahim must be heard as the issues of law raised were of great importance.
“This should be resolved by the supreme court and cannot be left pending,” he had said.
Rahman said that the people of Sabah had a right to know whether the removal of Musa was made in accordance with the Sabah constitution. Judge Zabariah Mohd Yusof agreed with Rahman.
The banking chairman, Mohd Zawawi Salleh, who was in the minority, said applicants had not crossed the threshold under Section 96 of the Judicial Courts Act to have the appeal heard.
In his statement, Musa said that he had always maintained that his removal was unconstitutional.
“Therefore, whoever took the oath after my questionable removal was and is nothing more than a usurper who should not be allowed to exercise and carry out the legitimate functions of the Sabah CM.
“Allowing such a person to exercise the constitutional duties of the CM will have far-reaching ramifications like what we are seeing right now,” he said.
According to him, it was for this reason that when Shafie applied for the dissolution of the Sabah state legislature, he submitted an application to challenge the dissolution.
“How could a person whose status is still questionable petition the TYT for the dissolution of the assembly? How could TYT act on the request of someone whose appointment has been and is still being challenged in the first place? Musa asked.
“It is worth reminding the public that rulers must always be above politics. His authority, including the TYT of Sabah, should not be exercised in aid of a certain political agenda of a person whose appointment is questionable.
“The public must be reminded that this current case is closely related to the previous matter that is now before the Federal Court.”
Musa said the Federal Court granted permission regarding 10 questions that sought to resolve issues related to his unconstitutional dismissal as the legitimate chief minister of Sabah.
“These issues are of great importance to the people of Sabah and must be resolved urgently before any proposed election, as they would have direct consequences on the legality of the elections.
“Therefore, I am looking for my appeal on the case of the legitimate prime minister to be heard quickly,” he said.
