The current coffeeshop talk about his being on the way out is largely based on the observation that two Sabah Umno members – Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia and federal communications and multimedia minister Salleh Said Keruak – have risen in national prominence in recent years.

Pandikar recently declared his intention to get back into active politics. As head of the United Sabah Bumis Association, he has embarked on a statewide roadshow to explain various issues to the electorate.

Contributing significantly to the speculation that Pandikar will rise to the chief minister’s position is the perception, at least among opposition supporters,  that he has been going out of his way to save Prime Minister Najib Razak from being embarrassed in the Dewan Rakyat.

Salleh certainly has the credentials and pedigree to be a chief minister of the state. In fact, he served in that position from 1994 to 1996 and was speaker of the Sabah legislative assembly from 2010 to 2015. He is the son of former Sabah chief minister and head of state Mohammad Said Keruak.

Salleh has been untiring in defending Umno and Najib against attacks from the opposition. Indeed, he has often been called Najib’s chief apologist.

However, the suitability of others for the post does not make Musa redundant, especially since he has proven his mettle, at least in Umno’s eyes.

Musa is said to have inherited a state government that was in the red and could not even meet its monthly commitments. After he took office as finance minister in 2001, Sabah’s budget has often seen a surplus. Today, the state’s reserves are reported to be in the region of RM3 billion.

Under his administration, the state claims to have reduced its hardcore poverty rate from 25% to 5%. At the corporate level, many GLCs have turned around and are now contributing more than RM200 million a year to the state coffers.

Musa has made tourism the state’s main revenue generator. Last year, Sabah received an all-time high of 3.43 million tourist arrivals, translating into receipts of RM7.25 billion.

Najib himself has praised him for transforming the state capital from a sleepy town into a bustling city complete with shopping malls, medical centres, fine hotels and busy overhead highways.

The Sabah administration did experience a storm last year when the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission confiscated RM114.5 million in cash, the largest in its history, in a graft case involving the Sabah Water Department. However, Musa seems to have ridden it out after ordering a review of the management of external funds to all state ministries, departments and agencies.

Musa has survived three prime ministers and he delivered solid wins for BN in the 2004 and 2008 general elections as well as a credible victory in 2013. In the 2004 and 2008 elections, Sabah BN won 59 out of 60 seats. In 2013, it retained most of the seats despite the opposition’s new strength.

Pundits have said the coming state and parliamentary elections will be tougher for BN, with the opposition touching a lot of hearts on matters such as Sabah’s rights under the 1963 Malaysia Agreement.

The opposition has indeed increased its momentum, with the fast-growing Parti Warisan Sabah gathering a lot of support, particularly on the state’s east coast.

However, there is still no consensus between national coalition Pakatan Harapan, Sabah-based alliance Gabungan Sabah and lone opposition parties such as Warisan. Unless they unite soon, BN is headed for another victory. And chances are that Najib will recognise Musa’s track record and keep him as the chief minister.