Second swearing-in for courts
Published on: Thursday, June 21, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah lawyers are suddenly having a lot on their plates with the recent separate second swearing-in of 19 assembly members aligned to former Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Hj Aman being the next action – the fourth since the 14th General Election on May 9 – to be headed for the courts.Parti Warisan Sabah Legal Advisor Martin Tommy (pic) opined Wednesday that the said swearing-in held exclusively for the 19 a day after the Special Sitting was in breach of Article 14(2) of the Standing Orders of the State Legislative Assembly, which states: "At any other time, Members shall present themselves at the Table to take their oath and affirmation, at the time appointed under the provisions of Standing Order No. 13 (Order of business) in such manner and in such order as the Speaker shall determine."
ADVERTISEMENT
Martin contends that the "Table" referred to in the provision is a definite article which specifically refers to The Table at the fore of the Speaker's seat upon which rests the ceremonial Mace as a symbol of royal authority, in this case, the authority of the TYT (Governor)."This is the only manner in which lawmakers may take their oaths and affirmation prescribed by the Standing Orders," he said. "The fact that the State Assembly Secretary failed to notify the Chief Minister's Office of the said swearing-in, emphatically reinforces the inference of bias and Warisan lawyers are currently contemplating challenging the legality of the ceremony," he said. "The Speaker should not have allowed the 19 to be sworn-in without informing the Head of State and the Chief Minister's Office.
ADVERTISEMENT
"They (Speaker and 19 assemblymen) are not only ignorant of the law but the swearing-in was also carried out in a rather clandestine manner. It gives the inference of bias and the Speaker and instigators of the swearing-in had something to hide and to catch the Sabah people by surprise."Being lawmakers, they should have followed proper procedures and not treat the State Assembly like a Pasar Malam (night market)," said Martin, who is also Warisan Supreme Council member.
ADVERTISEMENT
All legal requirements for a valid swearing-in of the Chief Minister had been fulfilled when Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal secured the vote of confidence from 43 out of the 64 lawmakers at the State Assembly on June 11, he said.Martin also refuted the claim by the 19 that Musa remains the rightful Chief Minister, which is also before the courts. Musa contends that the act of the TYT in giving him the Letter of Appointment soon after the election was testament to the fact that he (TYT) recognised that the 31 seats that Musa commanded through Barisan Nasional and Star elected representatives fulfilled the requirement for a simple majority in the 60-seat Assembly.However, the TYT requested Musa to return the letter when he met the former the following day over the appointment of six Nominated Members as stipulated in the State Constitution. Musa was also denied the right to the six.This apparently led to a verbal clash between the TYT and Musa in which the latter was alleged to have uttered words which amounted to "criminal intimidation against the TYT".Musa was sworn in before the Governor at the Istana after a delayed ceremony at 11.10pm on May 10, but lost his majority support when six of his BN election winners from Upko and Umno hopped over to Warisan and its partners 12 hours after he had taken his oath as CM.Shafie, whose party and its allies secured a majority with 35 of the 60 state seats, was then sworn in at 9.15pm on May 12.The police report by Juhar surfaced after Warisan President Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal was sworn in at the Istana as chief minister separately within a span of 48 hours.However, Musa is away from Sabah and had yet to meet the police to give his statement on the alleged criminal intimidation."It has been more than one month since (Head of State) Tun Juhar Mahiruddin lodged a police report against Musa. Parti Warisan and the rakyat would like to see a conclusion to the case."Despite numerous advice by the Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Ramli Din for Musa to come forward to have his statement taken, it seems that the advice has fallen on deaf ears."Everyone is eager to know the truth as the alleged threat is an offence where the police can arrest the suspect without warrant. "However, since Musa had denied the allegations through his lawyer and claimed that he is rightful CM, then he has nothing to fear but to come forward and clear his name," he said."I believe, as a last resort, the police will have to apply to the Court under Section 111(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code for the issuance of a warrant of arrest or even seek the help of Interpol to locate him," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
