When met on the sidelines of the Sabah state assembly sitting today, Syed Abbas said his office would issue an announcement within the next few days on Musa’s request for more time to be sworn in.
“As far as (procedures) are concerned, you are an assemblyman only after you have been sworn in,” he added.
He said Musa’s request did not require the assembly’s approval as there were enough provisions in the state constitution to address the matter.
Article 22 (2) of the Sabah constitution states: “If a member has not taken his seat within three months (90 days) from the date on which the legislative assembly first sits after his election or appointment, or within such further period as the assembly may allow, his seat shall become vacant.”
Last Thursday, Musa, who won the Sungai Sibuga state seat in the May 9 polls, said he had sent a letter to the speaker seeking a special dispensation to delay being sworn in as an assemblyman due to medical reasons.
Musa’s lawyer Tengku Fuad Tengku Ahmad, in a statement, said the former Sabah Umno chief had told the speaker he was undergoing a series of medical treatments and tests for which he had been hospitalised.
Doctors had advised him against travelling, he added. Musa’s son, Yamani Hafez, is also said to be with Musa who is believed to be in London.