SANDAKAN: After a long public silence, former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman hosted a 'buka puasa' event at his residence in Kampung Sungai Kayu, here, yesterday.
The Sungai Sibuga assemblyman spent time mingling with the constituents, where he greeted them and handed out Hari Raya goodies to various charitable organisations.
In his speech at the event, Musa explained his absence in Sandakan after the 14th General Election (GE14), citing health issue as one of reasons.
“Everyone knows what happened in GE14, so I don’t need to say it again. After the election, I went to London to meet a lawyer.
“However, I was also having health problem (while in London) and admitted to the hospital. I was not allowed to return home,” Musa told thousands of supporters, who were present at the breaking of fast event.
The former Sabah Umno liason chief also mentioned that a court case in Kuala Lumpur was another factor that prevented him from meeting the people of Sungai Sibuga.
Musa is currently facing 16 charges of money laundering and 35 corruption charges on timber concessions in Sabah.
In GE14, Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan), which has a pact with Pakatan Harapan, took over the Barisan Nasional (BN) government after United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) pulled out from BN to support Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
Musa, who was sworn in as CM on May 10 last year, was reported to have left the country on May 14, two days after he was replaced by Shafie.
He spent a long time in London and was also absent from state assembly sittings. Musa, however, returned to Sabah on Sept 5 last year to take his oath as Sungai Sibuga assemblyman before Speaker Datuk Syed Abas Syed Ali.
He made his first appearance at the state assembly sitting on April 16, this year, and had also participated in the question and answer sessions.