The funds received by former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman were political donations for Umno Sabah and not linked to timber concessions, his lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said.
In a statement, Amer Hamzah said the political donations received by Musa were for the preparation of by-elections and general elections.
He added that he had filed two applications relating to the charges levied against the former chief minister for corruption. One was for striking out the corruption suit and the other to refer to constitutional questions to the Federal Court.
Amer Hamzah said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had investigated the charges against Musa between 2008 and 2011 and had found no wrongdoing.
The attorney-general (AG) at that time, Abdul Gani Patail, had concurred with MACC’s findings and found no elements of corruption or money laundering against Musa.
Amer Hamzah pointed out that the ruling that political donations did not contravene the law was in line with the statement by MACC deputy commissioner (operations) Azam Baki who said that political donations were not against the law. MACC does not have the powers to investigate political donations in Malaysia.
He added that the charges against Musa in November 2018 were part of a “political persecution” against the former chief minister.
After GE14, Musa was appointed as Sabah’s chief minister for 48 hours, but subsequently the state’s governor appointed Mohd Shafie Apdal for the post.
The appointment of the second chief minister was contested and the case is currently at the Federal Court. – June 9, 2020
