‘Silap mata’ translates literally to ‘error of the eye’ but would more accurately mean ‘sleight of hand’. According to the Thesaurus, ‘sleight of hand’ means ‘artful deception’ or ‘smoke and mirrors’. Only very clever people can be artful in their deception. Stupid people get caught. No doubt the hand is faster than the eye, but the hand must be very fast and skillful to be able to fool the eye. Nevertheless, there is another Malay saying: pandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah. Loosely translated, this means: however clever the squirrel may be at jumping from tree to tree, in the end it will still fall to earth.

One such squirrel, or as some in Sabah circles would call, wily fox (musang in Malay), is its Chief Minister, Musa Aman. Over the last two years, Malaysia Today has been persistently revealing much of Musa Aman’s excesses and transgressions which he perpetuated openly and blatantly (see Special Reports on Sabah here). Nowadays, Musa Aman is not taking things for granted anymore and does not do things so blatantly and openly. But he is still perpetuating his evil deeds just like before with no slowdown in sight. It is still business as usual, especially since he does not know how long he is going to keep his job and is therefore reaping and raping as much as he can in whatever little time he may have left. It is just that he is now doings things undercover and with sleights of hand to cover his tracks.

Or so he thinks.

As they say, shit floats, and eventually all Musa Aman’s shit floats to the top. There is much shit in Sabah with Musa Aman’s thumbprints all over them. Just scanning the Special Reports on Sabah is enough to give you a mother of a migraine. The billion dollar question is not so much the manner in which he conjures all these tricks of his (which is actually not that clever since we are able to catch him easily with his pants down) but more how he appears to be getting away with them in spite of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s ‘war on corruption’. Or is this so-called war of Pak Lah’s just another ‘smoke and mirrors’, his very own sleight of hand to give an appearance of an effort in combating corruption -- but in reality while we all look at his left hand, his right hand is on Michelle Yeoh’s bare shoulders. Now that is certainly a sleight of hand even the great Houdini would admit defeat.

How can Pak Lah not notice Musa Aman’s antics in Sabah unless he is doing the famous Umno thing: closing one eye -- a trick invented by that infamous Member of Parliament from Jasin who is in the illegal logs export-import business? Musa Aman publicly declared his assets as RM300 million when he first took office as Sabah Chief Minister in March 2003. In the short time he has been Chief Minister, he has managed to increase his assets to an estimated RM1 billion. Every man and his dog in Sabah know this. It is no secret. Yet Pak Lah does not know this? The fact that Musa Aman was worth RM300 million when he took office in March 2003 is in itself something to question. How he managed to triple his worth in such a short time of four years is no mystery as Malaysia Today has exposed in great detail, over the last couple of years, how he did it.

We are not going to resurrect the old stories, reports and exposes which can be read in the Special Reports on Sabah section. These exposes speak for themselves and are supported by facts, figures, events, photographs, letters, and the like. If these are still not enough to bring Musa Aman to book, then let us expose yet another transgression which demonstrates how this Pakistani immigrant is reaping and raping the wealth of Sabah. We must, however, take our hat off to this ‘Malay’ who can rule over the majority non-Malay people of Sabah and steal from under their very noses with no resistance offered whatsoever. Maybe it is true what they say after all: the natives of North Borneo are so simple-minded that it would be a sin not to steal from them. And I bet when Pak Lah goes to Sabah this 15th February he will pat Musa Aman on the back and proclaim him the best Chief Minister Sabah ever had. And the natives of Sabah will continue to be robbed in broad daylight by this Pakistani in Malay clothing. Maybe the Sabah people deserve being robbed since they are so stupid as to keep mum and keep voting in governments that steal from them. Is it not a saying that a fool and his money are soon parted?

Let us look at the latest and greatest building in Kota Kinabalu called Wisma Bandaraya. Every man and his dog in Sabah know that this building is owned by Musa Aman. Just stop any illegal immigrant holding a valid Malaysian identity card (NRIC) which entitles him to vote only for Umno (and there are more than one million of them in Sabah), point to Wisma Bandaraya, and ask him or her who the building belongs to and see what the reply is. No one would shake their head and say they do not know. They all know it belongs to Musa Aman. So, you may ask, what is wrong with owning a building? Well, nothing wrong with that unless you have abused your authority in the process of acquiring it.

And we shall explain how and why in due course but first feast your eyes on the photograph of Wisma Bandaraya.



On the morning of Friday, 9 February 2007, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan made a report with the Sabah Anti-Corruption Agency. The last we heard is that the Director of the ACA is ‘studying’ this matter to explore what action should be taken, that is if in the first place any action can and should be taken. Chances are the Director of the ACA will instead go meet Musa Aman to discuss how to cover this matter up so that a statement can be issued later that the ACA has investigated this matter and no evidence was found of any wrongdoing. Does this not sound familiar?

This was what the Daily Express reported the following day, 10 February 2007, in a news item entitled: Jeffrey denies leading team to meet Kuan Yew

Kota Kinabalu: Deputy Chairman of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, has denied leading a group of people for a private meeting with Singapore’s Senior Minister Lee Kwan Yew. He was asked about the meeting in the wake of rumours that it was held in the republic a few weeks ago.

Before answering, Jeffrey took a long pause and someone beside him told him to say “No”. Jeffrey then immediately said “no trip, no meeting and no comment”. It is not the norm for world leaders enjoying good relations to entertain opposition figures from neighbouring states.

He was asked this after he lodged a report with the Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) at the new federal complex Friday. When asked to elaborate what was his complaint to the ACA about, he said: “A big fish abusing his power and authority.”

He said the ACA Director advised him not to make any statement yet as it might jeopardise their investigations. When contacted, ACA State Director Hjh Latifah Md Yatim confirmed Jeffrey had met her but stressed that it was an ordinary meeting.

It is apparent the Anti-Corruption Agency will not be taking any action on this report which the Director calls an ordinary meeting. The ‘preliminary’ statement by the ACA Director seems to point to that possibility. But then this is certainly no longer any surprise. To pre-empt this, Dr Jeffrey will be making a police report very soon. This will tie the ACA’s hands and force them to do something about the matter.

The 3,564.8 square-meter (0.356 hectare) land on which Wisma Bandaraya sits was originally owned by the government. On 5 June 1981, it was given to KOPERASI SERBAGUNA SANYA BHD (KOSAN). On 19 April 1984, the land title, TL017539856, was issued.



KOSAN is a cooperative owned by SANYA, the Sabah National Youth Association. During the time of Harris Salleh’s Berjaya government from 1976 to 1985, Musa Aman was SANYA’s Deputy President so it was he who applied for the land in 1981. Musa Aman very cleverly used SANYA and KOSAN as the front to acquire the land. However, once it was safely parked in the name of the cooperative, he then made his move to transfer it from the youth movement to his private company.

But Musa Aman’s attempt to grab the land was blocked by the PBS government that ruled the state from 1985 to 1994. This led to a crisis between Musa Aman and Datuk Masidi Manjun -- the Umno Sabah Liaison Assistant Secretary and Sabah Youth and Sports Minister -- who was then the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. It was not until a decade later in 1994 when Umno swept the state was Musa Aman able to finally get his hands on this prime land, an effort which was assisted by Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Haji Mulia, one of those who walk through the Sabah corridors of power.

Needless to say, Pandikar is today being well-rewarded for his assistance and he is one of those who are beneficiaries to much of Musa Aman’s generosity. Come to think of it, is Masidi’s appointment as the Umno Sabah Liaison Assistant Secretary and Sabah Youth and Sports Minister also a buy-off to get him to remain silent and not resist the move to transfer the land out of the youth cooperative and into Musa Aman’s private company?



The mistake Musa Aman made was in using his family company, BESTCO SDN BHD, (70077-P) to acquire the land. BESTCO SDN BHD was incorporated on 28 April 1981 and the Registrar of Companies lists its address as Lot 2, Blok B, Tingkat 3, Kompleks Sedco, Kampung Air, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The company’s authorised capital is RM2 million while the paid up capital is RM1.4 million.



On 25 September 2000, BESTCO SDN BHD officially ‘annexed’ the land.



On that very same day -- 25 September 2000 -- the land was charged to Malayan Banking for a loan of RM14,672,000.00.





On 25 September 2000, Musa Aman was the Minister in the Chief Minister’s office. The Chief Minister then was the infamous Osu Sukam who is now fighting his case in court against the casinos that are claiming an unpaid debt.

The two Directors of BESTCO SDN BHD are:

1) TAN KOON YEE (NRIC No. 520430-12-5057), whose registered address is Tingkat 9, Blok 50, Bangunan Yeng Ho Hong, Sandakan (who came onboard on 1 November 1983);

2) Musa Aman’s wife, DATIN FARIDAH BTE TUSSIN (NRIC no. 561120-12-5140), whose registered address is Unit No. 15.5-B2, Likas Square, Kota Kinabalu (who came onboard on 12 July 1999).



The three shareholders of BESTCO SDN BHD are:

1) DATUK MUSA HAJI AMAN (NRIC no. 510330-12-5093) who holds 840,000 shares.

2) YENG KIAT SDN BHD (Co. reg. no. 31710-W) that holds 420,000 shares.

3) TAN KOON YEE (NRIC no. 520430-12-5057) who holds 140,000 shares.

(Total shares: 1,400,000 at RM1.00 per share)



The premium for the land is in arrears ever since the land was acquired in 1981. The breakdown of the RM264,000.00 arrears, none of which has been settled thus far, is as follows:

RM198,000.00 (up to the year 2003)
RM16,500.00 (for the year 2004)
RM16,500.00 (for the year 2005)
RM16,500.00 (for the year 2006)
RM16,500.00 (for the year 2007)



Note the nominal amount of premium -- a mere RM16,500.00 a year for such a prime piece of land -- which is pittance, yet remains unpaid over the last 26 years. If this is not ‘close one eye’, or maybe both eyes, then I just do not know what is.

Musa Aman has instructed all the government agencies to move to Wisma Bandaraya to ensure that the building is fully-tenanted. Due to the excess supply of office space in Kota Kinabalu this has resulted in all the other buildings suffering a severe drop in tenants. Invariably, the government agencies have had to move to Wisma Bandaraya at a much higher rental cost than that being paid in the old premises such as Wisma Boon Siew and Wisma MUIS. Furthermore, now that they have moved to this new building, they have had to incur additional costs to renovate their offices. The cost to renovate the old premises of course cannot be salvaged and is money down the drain. Renovation costs need to be wiped out once you move to your new office and on top of that you need to again incur additional costs to renovate your new office.


(Wisma Boon Siew: Where the Sabah Energy Corporation was originally located)

The Sabah Energy Corporation was originally renting a space in Wisma Boon Siew before it was instructed to move out and move to Wisma Bandaraya. This move cost them an additional expense of RM5 million in renovation charges.


(The MUIS building where the Kementerian Pembangunan Sumber dan Teknologi Maklumat and the Jabatan Sumber Manusia was originally located and which is now almost vacant)

The same went for the Kementerian Pembangunan Sumber dan Teknologi Maklumat and the Jabatan Sumber Manusia which were instructed to move out of the MUIS building and move into Wisma Bandaraya. Apart from more than RM2.5 million a year in rental charges, the Kementerian Pembangunan Sumber dan Teknologi Maklumat and the Jabatan Sumber Manusia also had to spend RM5 million in renovation costs. The total rental both these agencies have paid thus far since 2003 is almost RM10 million.

To ensure that Wisma Bandaraya does not suffer the same fate as Wisma Boon Siew and the MUIS building -- in the event that Musa Aman falls from grace -- he has instructed them to sign a 15-year rental agreement; apart from having to pour tens of millions into renovating their new offices. This means it is does not make economic sense for them to move out again.

What is puzzling is the fact that government agencies such as the Kementerian Pembangunan Sumber dan Teknologi Maklumat and the Jabatan Sumber Manusia are entitled to free office space in the Federal Government building but instead are paying more than RM2.5 million a year in rental charges to rent a space in Wisma Bandaraya. The Sabah Energy Corporation is paying an even higher rental charge than this. And the same goes for the other agencies as well such as FAMA and the Registrar of Companies that can get free office space in the Federal Government building such as Wisma Dang Bandang -- which is just next door and which is now almost empty since the National Registration Department and Immigration Department moved out and relocated to ‘Mini Putrajaya’. They are now paying millions in rental when they could actually get space free in a government-owned building.


(Wisma Dang Bandang: which is just next door to Wisma Bandaraya is now empty and the various government agencies can actually take up the surplus space here free without having to pay exorbitant rental charges)

Musa Aman has perpetuated much over the last few years since taking office. But his excesses and transgressions started even before he became Chief Minister in 2003. When Chong Kah Kiat was the Chief Minister, Musa Aman arranged the sale of logs that had a market value of RM300 p.c.m. for only RM50. Though Chong Kah Kiat was the Chief Minister, he could not oppose the wishes of Musa Aman who was the Umno Sabah Chief -- so ultimately Musa Aman made all the decisions and Chong Kah Kiat just complied. The Wisma Bandaraya land is another case in point that was transferred to the youth cooperative when Musa Aman was its Deputy President. Now that he is the Chief Minister he is able to hijack the land and transfer it to his own company. And who would argue with the Chief Minister when he instructs the government agencies to move out of their free premises, or premises they are paying low rental, and take up space in Wisma Bandaraya at an exorbitant rental cost?

That is the fun of walking through the corridors of power and that is why they are falling over each other to be the one who walks through the corridors of power. Oh, and one more thing, expect the Anti-Corruption Agency investigation to go cold due to lack of evidence. After all, as Pak Lah said, how can we believe what Blogs and websites publish since they only publish lies?

Over to you, people of Sabah. Who owns Sabah anyway, the natives or the immigrants who rule over you?

ADDENDUMS

1) Memorandum mendesak Musa Aman letak jawatan

2) Police Report against Musa Aman on the Wisma Bandaraya issue

3) Laporan salahguna kuasa & rasuah Ketua Menteri Sabah

4) Jeffrey free to lodge whatever reports, says Musa Aman

LATEST UPDATES

On 12 February 2007, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan made a police report against Musa Aman at Karamunsing (report number 002311/07) plus he lodged an official report with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) in relation to the above and in reference to his meeting with the ACA Director on 9 February 2007. The ACA Director has threatened Dr Jeffrey with arrest if he reveals the contents of his report. Dr Jeffrey subsequently made a police report as below: