KOTA KINABALU, Aug 21 — Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal has scoffed at a picture of predecessor Tan Sri Musa Aman apparently in a London hospital bed, saying one is not exempt from the law even if he is ill.
Shafie, who marked his 100th day in office today, added that he did not wish to speculate whether Musa was indeed sick or when he will return to the country.
“I’m not a doctor, and I haven’t seen any medical reports. But from the photos, he has his walking stick with him in bed.
“If he was really sick, he wouldn’t need that. Crutches and a wheelchair maybe, but not a tongkat,” he said.
However, Shafie also joked that Musa’s hair was still dark and said a sickly man would have gone grey.
“But what is important is that there is no immunity for any individual in this county, whether he is away or ill, he still has to face the law,” he said.
Musa, who had been sworn in as chief minister on May 10 following a close fight in the general election, fled the country after Shafie replaced him on May 12.
He has since filed a lawsuit seeking to declare himself the rightful chief minister of Sabah, but still has not been sworn in as Sungai Sibuga assemblyman and must by September 11, to avoid disqualification.
A political aide of Musa posted an undated photo of him lying in a hospital bed with his walking stick and what appears to be two cellphones and spectacles. His son, Sipitang MP Yameni Hafez Musa, and wife Puan Sri Faridah Tussin were also in the photo.
The aide, Mohd Joh Wid, claimed he had visited Musa at the Clementine Churchill hospital in London and that the latter would return to the country against doctor’s orders, but without saying when or to where.
Shafie said the full force of the law must be applied on Musa upon his promised return.
“What’s important is how the law must prevail. Whether it is the Immigration Act, the Police Act or MACC act, the law is colour blind.
“I think the citizens who voted us in want to see us restore the institutions and we have to uphold that,” said Shafie.
When asked whether he thought the photo was intentionally released today to coincide with his 100th day in office, Shafie shrugged off the suggestion with a smile.
