Musa Aman appointed as Sabah governor

Summary

• Musa Aman will serve as Sabah governor from Jan 1 next year until Dec 31, 2028.

• Ex-Sabah CM replaces Juhar Mahiruddin whose term ends on Dec 31.

• Musa also receives the title “Tun” with the Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara award.

Former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman has been appointed the next Sabah governor, effective Jan 1, 2025.

He received his instrument of appointment from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in Kuala Lumpur today.

He was also awarded the Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara which carries the title “Tun”.

Musa’s four-year term as governor will end on Dec 31, 2028.

Article 1 of the Sabah constitution provides for the governor, or the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, to be appointed by the king.

The new governor will replace Juhar Mahiruddin, whose term concludes on Dec 31 this year.

Malaysiakini previously reported Musa was the frontrunner for the governor position, other candidates considered were former chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan and former Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

Musa’s rise

Musa served as Sabah chief minister from 2003 to 2018, under the BN administration.

He was ousted from power in 2018 after post-election defections led to Warisan president Shafie Apdal becoming chief minister instead.

Musa later faced 46 charges of corruption and money laundering linked to timber concessions in the state.

However, he was acquitted in June 2020 after the charges were withdrawn following a prosecution application.

In 2020, Musa orchestrated a political coup against the Warisan-led government under Shafie. Claiming to have secured the majority support of assemblypersons, Musa sought to reclaim power by presenting his case to the Sabah governor.

However, the attempted takeover ultimately failed when Shafie requested the dissolution of the state assembly, triggering a snap election.

Musa was also sidelined by BN in that election and dropped as a candidate.

Rocked by scandals

One of the scandals Musa was involved in concerned a Sabah businessperson who was caught in 2008 trying to smuggle RM40 million worth of Singapore currency into Malaysia from Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) reportedly found that the money was earmarked for Musa and was part of more funds being deposited into a Swiss bank account containing US$30 million allegedly being held in trust for the then-Sabah chief minister by a lawyer.

Musa denied all allegations and in 2011, the government announced that investigation papers submitted to the attorney-general by the MACC allegedly showed that the monies were meant for political contributions to Sabah Umno, and not Musa himself.

Musa was the Sabah Umno chief at the time.

Long political career

According to Bernama, the 73-year-old veteran politician started his political career in 1990 when he ran for the Sugut state seat in Sandakan under the United Sabah National Organisation (Usno). However, his first foray into the state election saw him lose.

Musa later joined Umno and played a crucial role in expanding the party in Sabah holding various party positions.

BN chose him to represent the coalition in the 1994 state polls, where he won the Sungai Sibuga state seat, defeating three other candidates. He defended the seat for six terms until 2018.

Musa chaired the Sabah Economic Development Corporation (Sedco), Yayasan Sabah and Sabah Softwood Sdn Bhd. He was also the chief executive officer of Innoprise Corporation Sdn Bhd.

Other positions he has held include Universiti Malaysia Sabah pro-chancellor, Sabah Football Association president and Sabah Bumiputera Chamber of Commerce president.

The longest-serving chief minister has a Master’s in Business Administration from Edith Cowan University, Australia.

Musa has three sons and a daughter with his wife Faridah Tussin.

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