Sabah Umno is firmly behind Chief Minister Musa Aman who is facing 'whispers' within Barisan Nasional to step down over money-laundering allegations. |
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno has brushed off calls for Chief Minister Musa Aman to step down from his post while investigations continue into undeclared money worth hundreds of millions of ringgit in bank accounts said to be linked to him.
Musa’s deputy chief in Sabah Umno, Salleh Said Keruak, when contacted, said: “Musa is doing a good job for Sabah and there are leaders who are power-crazy and jealous of his achievement.”
Salleh, who is also the Sabah State Legislative Assembly Speaker, and a former chief minister himself, was speaking after outspoken local politician, Daniel John Jambun, of the State Reform Party (STAR), called on Musa to step down as he is embroiled in what appears to be an international banking scandal that has caught the attention of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
Tian, who claimed to have been tipped off by authorities, said that Musa had during the ongoing investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) told its officers that the money in question which has been traced to a bank in Zurich, Switzerland, is not his but Umno’s.
“Najib must explain Musa’s alleged statement linking Umno and therefore the government to the hitherto secret party fund,” Tian Chua had said.
The money in question is part of a large sum being traced by international investigative reporters who published details of transactions connecting Musa, Sabah businessman Michael Chia as well as many in Malaysian and Swiss banking in questionable financial deals criss-crossing several countries.
“Musa should step down. In other countries, the leader would have relinquished his government posts, until his name is cleared,” Jambun said two days ago following Tian Chua’s exposé on the leaked information.
‘It’s all lies’
However Salleh, an Umno loyalist from Kota Belud, and considered an influential warlord in Sabah Umno, described the allegations as merely “slanderous lies”.
“There is no reason [for Musa] to resign just because of slanderous lies being hurled against him. Musa has been chosen by our president [Najib] to lead the party in Sabah and we will back him all the way and deliver comfortable majority to BN in the coming general election,” he said.
Besides Jambun, Sabah Umno kingmaker, Lajim Ukin, who is also the federal local government and housing deputy minister, had last week openly called for replacement of Musa with whom he has been at loggerheads lately amidst allegation that Musa was dropping him as Umno’s candidate and replacing him with his (Musa’s) relative in the coming general election due by next April.
Despite the scandal gaining worldwide publicity and the embarrassment brought on by the investigations both overseas and at home, Musa appears to be immune at the moment from all attacks within and outside Umno.
The rainforest-based advocacy group, Bruno Manser Fund, has filed a criminal complaint against the Swiss bank, UBS, over its close ties with Musa, for allegedly helping him launder US$90 million in corruption proceeds from logging in Sabah.
BMF accused UBS of having breached its due diligence duties and called on the Swiss authorities to take criminal action against the bank and those responsible for its relationship with Musa.
According to the Swiss media, UBS declined to comment on the accusations and its spokesman Yves Kaufmann said the bank complied with the legal requirements in the markets where it operated.
BMF has convinced the Swiss state prosecutor to take action in Switzerland under Swiss law against UBS and against UBS employees who have allegedly disregarded their due diligence duties in the Musa case.
“How UBS ought to handle banking relationships with politically exposed persons is stated in the law and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority’s regulations. These rules were blatantly disregarded in that no suitable measures were taken for enforcing them,” the complaint states.
The complaint was filed on behalf of BMF by Swiss lawyer and compliance expert Monika Roth.
‘Govt must counter lies’
Local newspapers have been reluctant to grill Musa on the allegations while he himself has on at least three recent occasions called for Umno’s cyber troopers to counter “lies” being hurled by the opposition against the government.
In his home-bastion of Sandakan last Saturday, Musa, who is Sungai Sibuga assemblyman, told government supporters to counter or rectify whatever misconceptions that may have been created by “irresponsible quarters” in cyber space.
“These slanderous attacks and stories from doubtful sources by irresponsible quarters must be answered wisely by social media friends who can provide the real explanation or give a better picture in that the government is sincere in keeping its promises,” Musa told 915 participants of a one-day inaugural “1Malaysia Social Media Convention Road Show” at the Sandakan’s Dewan Sri Libaran.
Musa also called on strengthening the relationship between those using the social media, bloggers and the government to help deflect lies on the Internet.
He acknowledged that the social media had become an increasingly crucial part of the BN’s machinery to combat the opposition at the coming general election.
“You have to assist the government in disseminating policies of the government and directly thwart the lies propagated by irresponsible people,” he told supporters.
At the centre of the money-laundering scandal are documents that allegedly prove that hundreds of millions of US dollars traced to several accounts in Swiss banks, allegedly belonged to Musa or his proxies.
The documents were uploaded by Sarawak Report, an online news portal, following the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (ICAC) three-year long investigation into Sabah businessman Michael Chia, who was caught in Hong Kong allegedly carrying S$16 million in a bag.
The leaked ICAC investigation papers initially linked Chia and the money to Musa but has now also implicated Najib as well as the MACC and the Malaysian Attorney-General’s office for refusing to initiate charges against those exposed by scandal.
Also in the public domain now are various details, including bank slips of transactions involving Musa, Chia, Musa’s son and also lawyer Richard Barnes, who is said to be a close associate of both Musa and Chia.
Musa’s ‘family ties’ with A-G
Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the journalist behind Sarawak Report which has published exposé of questionable dealings by Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud in public projects and his growing wealth both here and abroad, also published details of the family connection between Musa and the Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail.
According to Brown, since Gani’s wife is a sister of the wife of Anifah Aman, Musa’s younger brother, who is also Foreign Minister, this could be a reason why no punitive action has been taken against Musa at federal level.
So far Najib has not responded to Tian Chua’s call for clarification on the matter.
Najib, however, had on June 21 said that MACC had cooperated fully with the Hong Kong’s ICAC and had completed the investigation and said that the file had been sent to the A-G for further action.
Meanwhile, a senior leader of opposition party, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), lawyer Peter Marajin, has questioned the timidity of the local media over the issue.
“Let third parties like Monica Roth and Suaram in the case of French submarine deals, be encouraged to take up these cases against those ‘pirates’ masquerading as caring leaders of the people,” he had said.
“I believe the powers-that-be are equally determined to put this under wraps as is always the case in this ‘bolehland’ Malaysia, when accountability of state money is an issue.”
Janganlah resign bah kan Datuk, biar kalah dalam pilihanraya macam Datuk Harris Salleh dulu baru dramatik pemberhentian CM itu.. Kih
ReplyDeleteThere are no proof as yet regarding the allegations of the money laundering case involving the Chief Minister.
ReplyDeletehttp://sabah-go-green.blogspot.com/
PM has yet to clarify this matter whether the money in the bank account belongs to UMNO.
DeleteTunggulah penjelasan daripada PM.
DeletePihak penyiasat akan berusaha mencari bukti yang kukuh agar tidak melepaskan sesiapa yang terlibat dalam kes rasuah.
DeleteWe should wait for the MACC to make their announcement after their thorough investigation.
ReplyDeletehttp://sabah-go-green.blogspot.com/
ya...biar pihak berkuasa melakukan kerja mereka..
DeleteA proper investigation should be made in order to ensure that no one is wrongly accused of doing something that they did not do which in this case is Musa.
Deleteserahkan saja kepada pihak berkuasa untuk lakukan apa yang patut.
DeleteTunggulah pengumuman daripada pihak SPRM mengenai kes ini.
DeletePihak berkuasa akan hantar kes ini ke mahkamah jika bukti mencukupi.
DeleteJika benar, seakan mengecewakan rakyat yang menyokongnya selama ini.
DeleteLet the people decide stay or not. Its better to let the people do the voting.
ReplyDeleteI believe the people will make a wise vote.
DeleteLet see whether the people of Sabah will still need Musa?
DeleteWhen the time comes someday we will be not in our place anymore. You will not be on the top forever. The time will come when you have to let go everything and enjoy ur life as an old man.
ReplyDeleteSooner or later, Musa will have to give up his throne to other leader.
DeleteBelum sampai masa lagi.
Deletetuduhan liar saja...tiada bukti pun..
ReplyDeletetuduhan yang tidak berasas hanyalah untuk kepentingan politik pihak tertentu saja.
Deletekalau ada bukti yang benar2 kukuh pasti sekarang pasti sudah ada tindakan undang2.
Deletetiada sebab mengapa perlu musa letak jawatan sebagai KM sabah...
ReplyDeleteThis coming election, we will see whether Musa will remain as the cm of sabah.
DeleteIf the people voted BN again this GE, it shows that they still support Datuk Musa Aman as Chief Minister.
DeleteLet the people decide. Im sure Musa will still gain enough support to stay in power.
DeleteMelainkan jika rakyat sendiri yang tidak menyokong beliau.
DeleteBergantung pada rakyat dan pucuk pimpinan BN.
Deletemusa selaku KM sabah melakukan tugas beliau dengan cemerlang...
ReplyDeleteNo doubt about that. However, there is still more work needed to be done on the rural areas.
DeleteRome is not build in a day, there are no doubt a lot more to be done to bring Sabah towards a developed state, hopefully we can achieve high income status in 2020.
Deletesekarang ini Sabah melalui SDC berjaya tarik pelaburan bernilai RM112.8 billion. ini satu perkembangan baik untuk pembangunan ekonomi Sabah. ini jg hasil usaha pentadbiran Sbah kepimpinan Musa Aman.
Deletesabah kini di landasan yang betul untuk terus membangun di bawah pentadbiran kerajaan negeri yang diterajui oleh musa aman.
ReplyDeleteharap Sabah akan terus membangun pada masa akan datang.
DeleteSabah sekarang sedang pesat membangun. Hanya yang buta hati tidak mahu terima kenyataan bahawa Sabah membangun di bawah pentadbiran Musa.
DeleteOnly the opposition are trying to discredit the State government's efforts in developing Sabah, so that they can win the people's support, dirty tactics.
DeleteSokong, saya percaya, di bawa pimpinan kerajaan BN, Sabah akan terus amaju ke hadapan.
DeleteSDC akan membawa Sabah ke arah yang lebih gemilang.
DeleteDengan pimpinan yang bijak yang dapat membawa Sabah ke peringkat yang berbeza.
Deletetunggu hingga keluar keputusan MACC..
ReplyDeleteSelagi keputusan MACC belum keluar, semua cerita berkenaan Datuk Musa hanya khabar angin.
DeleteJika khabar angin, tidak perlu menumpu perhatian, lebih baik berusahakan kebajikan untuk rakyat.
DeleteI can't imagine how sabah would turn out if Musa was never the cm.
ReplyDeleteUnder the leadership of Musa Aman, Sabah has undergo various development-development that we could see from our on eyes as well as intangibles ones.
DeleteWithout Musa Aman, we will not be able to achieve the RM3 billion state reserves. If Musa is anything like those CM's before him, the state reserves would be dry by now. Even the auditor general praises the Sabah CM for this achievement.
DeleteI can't imagine how Sabah would turn out if the opposition be the leader..
DeleteNobody can expect what will happen to Sabah in the future. Indeed BN need to work harder to change Sabah and resolve poverty status.
Deletesemua tuduhan yang dilemparkan terhadap Musa tu tiada bukti pun.
ReplyDeleteTidak boleh membuktikan apapa sehingga dikenal pasti oleh pihak berkuasa.
DeleteGuilty until proven. Pergilah mana2 court pun, seseorang itu bersalah bila hakim sudah menjatuhkan hukuman.
DeleteBelum ada bukti yang kukuh, bagaimana nak mendakwa seorang itu bersalah? Sekiranya begitu mudah, rasanya ramai orang yang tidak bersalah dipenjarakan kerana tidak memerlukan bukti.
DeleteDatuk Musa tidak akan melayan segala tuduhan yang tidak masuk akal.
DeleteTuduhan tanpa bukti tidak perlu diambil perhatian.
DeleteBiarlah pihak berkuasa mencari lebih banyak bukti untuk membaa Musa ke mahkamah. Gagal mencari, hentikan tuduhan tanpa bukti ini.
DeletePihak MACC harus usaha lagi untuk mencari bukti jika ada.
Deletesetakat ini ramai yang memuji dan berpuas hati terhadap Musa.
ReplyDeleteDatuk Najib Razak juga yakin dengan pemimpinan Datuk Musa di Sabah.
DeleteDatuk Musa is the best CM ever, kepimpinan beliau telah terbukti.Lihat sahaja kemajuan yang ada di Sabah sekarang.
Deleteprestasi baik yang ditunjukkan melalui pencapaian ekonomi dan penjagaan hutan antara sebab ramai yang menyokong Musa.
ReplyDeleteMasih ramai lagi yang menyokong Datuk Musa Aman seperti Salleh Said, Rahman Dahlan, V.K Liew, Shafie Apdal dan pemimpin-pemimpin lain.
DeleteRakyat Sabah yang masih sokong Datuk Musa pasti akan mengundi parti BN-UMNO pada PRU-13.
Deleteusaha pihak2 tertentu untuk menjatuhkan Musa takkan berhasil kerana Musa mendapat ramai sokongan.
DeleteDatuk Musa akan sentiasa mendapat sokongan dari rakyat Sabah.
DeleteCuma segelintir yang mahu Musa undur je. Ini tidak mewakili kesemua golongan.
DeleteBila tiba masanya, maka Musa akan undur sendiri. Tidak payah mahu suruh2 beliau undur bila khidmat beliau masih diperlukan.
ReplyDeleteYang suruh Musa letak jawatan tentu orang tu yang mahu sangat akan jawatan KM..
DeleteYong Teck Lee dan Jeffrey Kitingan adalah orang yang paling inginkan jawatan KM Sabah. Rasanya Lajim Ukin juga.
Deletebyk pembangunan Musa lakukan untuk Sabah, khidmat dia masih diperlukan bagi membangunkan lagi Sabah.
DeleteHargai dengan jasa Musa membangunkan Sabah, beliau antara KM yang terbaik setakat ini.
DeleteMusa masih orang kuat di Sabah. Kelompok yang menyokong beliau masih banyak.
DeleteSiapa yang berhak nak Musa undur? Rakyat yang berkuasa.
DeleteBiarlah rakyat menentukan sama ada Musa harus undur atau tidak.
DeleteDatuk Salleh begitu menyokong Musa Aman.
ReplyDeleteTuduhan terhadap Gatuk Musa tidak ada bukti yang kukuh.
ReplyDeleteSiapa yang suruh Datuk Musa undur diri itu sebenarnya yang mau mengambil ahli kuasa beliau.
ReplyDeletesepatutnya pihak itu tidak perlu arahkan Musa berundur.. apa guna ada pilihanraya jika perubahan tampuk pemerintahan negeri boleh dilakukan bila2 masa dengan hanya menggunakan mulut..
DeleteYang banyak cakap tu ahanya pembangkang, yang cuba menjatuhkan Datuk Musa..
ReplyDeletebiasalah kalau hati sudah cemburu...mereka cemburu dengan musa aman..
DeleteTuduhan ini cuma untuk melemahkan kuasa Musa sahaja.
ReplyDeleteTidak perlu buat tuduhan melalui media. Hantar kes ini ke mahkamah.
ReplyDeleteBukti masih tidak kukuh lagi, itulah membuat aduan melalui media.
Deletemusa telah membawa sabah ke arah perubahan yang positif dengan pembangunan yang lebih agresif..sejak musa mengambil alih tampuk pemerintahan kerajaan negeri sabah, sabah terus membangun...banyak masalah2 yang dihadapi telah diselesaikan dan sedang dalam proses penyelesaian..
ReplyDelete"Lajim Ukin, who is also the federal local government and housing deputy minister, had last week openly called for replacement of Musa"
ReplyDeleteLajim tidak sehaluan dengan Musa lagi. Masing-masing ada agenda untuk dicapai.
Musa berkuasa di Sabah, ada juag pihak berhasrat untuk mengambil alih.
ReplyDeleteBuat apa suruh Datuk Musa keluar pula. Sedangkan beliau telah pun memberikan yang terbaik kepada rakyat.
ReplyDeleteLain cerita kalau Datuk Musa telah menjual Sabah ini kepada orang luar. Mungkin memang patut Datuk Musa tarik diri dari CM. Tapi tidak ada sebab kenapa Datuk Musa perlu berbuat demikian. Kalau kata mengenai rasuah dan pengubahan wang haram tidak ada bukti yang kukuh menuduh beliau melakukan semua ini. Beliau sendiri pun menafikan mengenai perkara ini.
ReplyDeleteJika kita lihat juga Datuk Musa telah pun membawa pelbagai pembangunan kepada Negeri di Bawah Bayu ini. Datuk Musa tidak pernah abaikan tanggungjawab kepada Negeri Sabah. Mengenai isu kekurangan yang berlaku di Luar bandar ini mungkin KKLW yang memainkan peranan. Tapi kerajaan Negeri pasti akan cuba membantu juga bagi menyelesaikan masalah seperti ini. Kerjasama antara dua pihak amatlah penting sekali.
ReplyDeletekenapa pemimpin yang banyak menyumbang dalam pembangunan ekonomi negeri ini pula yang diarahkan turun jawatan?? sepatutnya rakyat berusaha menghalang pemimpin2 tamak seperti YTL dan Jeffrey dari merampas jawatan KM Sabah..
ReplyDeleteUmno Tuaran has pledged full support for the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman to continue bringing the country and Sabah to greater heights.
ReplyDeleteUmno Tuaran chief Datuk Hajiji Noor said in Sabah, Musa who is also Sabah Umno chief, had brought about many development programmes for long-term benefit of the people.
ReplyDeleteHe recalled when he was the Assistant Finance Minister in 2001 and Musa was the Finance Minister, the State government's reserves was only around RM100 million."But today the reserves had increased to more than RM3 billion. This clearly shows that he is a great leader and financial manager. Because of this, your struggle has a place in the hearts of the people, especially Umno and BN members in this division. Believe me you are not alone in the struggle to bring Umno and Barisan Nasional to a higher pedestal," he said.
ReplyDeleteIn this respect, Hajiji said Umno Tuaran's election machinery was already in place to face the opposition in the 13th general election with programmes mainly to get closer to the grassroots being held regularly.
ReplyDeleteHajiji who is also Local Government & Housing Minister reminded the opposition here that Umno and BN would never retreat nor surrender. And, he also expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for approving the construction of a new mosque for Kampung Serusup and former Finance Ministry's permanent secretary Datuk Yusof Kassim for donating the land.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Musa urged party leaders and members here to continue strengthening relationships and avoid actions that might only weaken the party.Instead, he said they should brace for the imminent election.
ReplyDelete"I call on everyone to make more efforts to serve the people. No doubt we will be facing challenges but we will emerge triumphant" he said, adding that what was important was to maintain the existing cordial relationship and strong unity.Musa also reiterated the importance of being sincere and honest.
ReplyDelete"The position as Chief Minister, minister or even YBs is not important but sincerity and honesty in order for us to continue helping the people of Sabah," he said.Musa said the country's peace and independence today has brought benefits and allowed Malaysians to be able to observe the fasting month comfortably.
ReplyDeleteHe said this situation also gave the people a chance to unite in harmony at breaking of fast functions regardless of their religion and race."We need to be grateful for these blessings as we are able to perform our religious obligation in a peaceful and serene environment.
ReplyDelete"This is the benefit of an independent country which is economically and socially prosperous with various races and religions," he said. In respect to this, Musa said the public must continue to preserve peace in the country.
ReplyDelete