The controversial appointment of the 11th Governor or Yang di-Pertua Negeri (TYT) of Sabah, Musa Aman, who starts work on 1 January 2025, is both alarming and worrying.

Alarming because he was appointed despite his history of a tainted past.

Worrying because his appointment will undoubtedly send out the wrong messages not just to the youth of Sabah, but also to the outside world.

The allegations surrounding Musa go back a long way.

In 2009, Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said that Michael Chia, one of Musa’ proxies, was charged with money laundering after he was caught at Hong Kong International Airport carrying RM40 million in Singapore currency.

However, in 2012, Nazri Abdul Aziz, who at the time was the law minister, told Parliament that MACC had cleared Chia of any wrongdoing.

He said the RM40 million had in fact been political donations for Sabah Umno, not for Musa.

As expected, many Malaysians did not see it that way.

Musa’s career has been littered by legal battles, political disputes, and allegations of misconduct.

On top of that, when he was the Chief Minister, allegations of unresolved claims of land grabs and corruption marred his tenure in office.

It was during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s tenure as prime minister in the Harapan government which came to power in May 2018, that Musa was finally slapped with 46 charges of corruption and money laundering, with accusations of receiving US$63,293,924.88 (RM280 million) in kickbacks.

In 2020, when Mahiaddin Yassin seized power in what is known as the Sheraton Move, and installed what is known as the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration, Malaysians were horrified to discover that Musa was given a full acquittal and all charges were dropped.

That is why Musa’s controversial appointment as Governor last December, left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Sabahans.

His appointment sparked further debates about his tainted past, brought into question the integrity of the current Madani administration and left a nation struggling to understand why a man with a controversial political history could have been nominated as Governor.

Graphic artist Fahmi Reza, who is no stranger to fighting against corruption and corrupt leaders, found himself arrested by the Sabah police for his depiction of Musa as a corrupt leader.

He told reporters that he was being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for abuse of network facilities, and Section 504 of the Penal Code for intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace.

Meanwhile, a group of students from the local university showed extreme courage to show their disgust and contempt for the controversial appointment by holding a rally on the eve of the New Year.

Various government propagandists have tried to dissuade students from protesting, but many forget that the current PM, Anwar Ibrahim, is himself no stranger to student protests.

In the late 70s, Anwar led several marches to shame the then government about poverty and starvation in the northern states of Semenanjung Malaya.

Morally and ethically, Musa Aman’s appointment as Governor raises many hot questions for the ordinary rakyat, especially Sabahans.

The irony about Musa’s appointment is that it coincides with allegations of corruption involving kickbacks for mining exploration licenses within the current state government.

Many Sabahans have expressed their disgust and disappointment on social media.

One retiree wrote to say that under the Constitution, Musa’s appointment was legal and followed due process as his name had been proposed by the current CM and endorsed by the King.

However, the senior citizen argues that “legal is not necessarily moral or ethical. Morally, and ethically, it raises many hot questions for the ordinary rakyat, especially Sabahans”.

One of the questions that he highlighted was to know the basis of “which good and noble criteria” the selection been made.

He also wondered about the message that was being sent to the ordinary rakyat. He cites the various allegations made against Musa, and that it does not sit well that with his tainted past, he would be awarded the title of “Tun” in his role as the Governor.

At the back of his mind, the retiree wondered how he should break the news about the Governor to his children and grandchildren.

He stated his concerns and the diminished confidence and trust in our leaders.

He said, “How do we respect and give honour to a TYT whom we know had several allegations made against him and who almost faced a severe sentence but had all his charges dropped without explanation by the former AG?”

Showing concern for our image, he said that Malaysia in general and Sabah in particular would become a laughing stock of the world with the high-profile former CM who despite the allegations had been nominated to become Governor.

His contempt for the decision prompted him to add that the government slogan of Sabah Maju Jaya to Sabah Malu Saja, and said that this was the height of official hypocrisy.

With sadness, he wondered for how long and for how many more times should Sabahans continue to suffer such indignities and political manipulations from those in power.

He called upon their sense of “maruah” which he claimed was often screamed and shouted out so loudly and defended publicly by politicians.

His final message to those in power and authority was to implore them to engage with the ordinary rakyat and provide them with satisfactory answers about this “most shameless and critical appointment”.

Failing that, he said they should perhaps “hang their heads in shame”.

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)