Istana Negeri refutes alleged power abuse by Tun Juhar

The Istana Negeri of Sabah today refuted the allegation by a non-governmental organisation that Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin had abused his power and had accepted an inducement in dissolving the state assembly.

The Sabah Governor’s private secretary, Abinan Asli said that in response to the complaint lodged by the chairman of Gerakan Kuasa Rakyat Malaysia Datuk Zulkarnain Mahdar with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Putrajaya yesterday, alleging misconducts against Juhar.

“The Istana Negeri strongly refutes the allegations made by Zulkarnain Mahdar. They are untrue, baseless and had malicious intent,” he told a press conference at Istana Negeri here today.

Abinan explained that Juhar had never received 33 statutory declarations as claimed by Zulkarnain before signing the declaration for the dissolution of the state assembly.

Furthermore, he said the palace never received any official or unofficial request from the former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman to have an audience with Juhar.

Abinan said the palace also never instructed the police to stop Musa and his entourage from entering the palace area on July 30 as the roadblock mounted by the police was meant to avoid untoward incidents.

On July 30, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal announced the dissolution of the state assembly to pave the way for a state election, which has to be held within 60 days, after obtaining the consent of the Sabah head of state.

The dissolution of the state assembly also saw Musa leading a group of state assemblyman to seek an audience with Juhar after claiming that he had secured simple majority support to form a new state government without having to go through fresh state election.

Abinan said Juhar did not grant an audience to Musa on July 30 as he had taken into consideration the tense situation at that moment as the state assembly had just been dissolved earlier that day.

“The Governor is really disappointed with the false report against him which was being circulated on social media and WhatsApp application,” he said.

Abinan said Juhar also reminded everyone to remain calm and not to fall for fake news found in the Internet and social media, and to also be wary of making statements that could cause uneasiness and disharmony among the people.

“The Governor also calls on the people of Sabah to stay united and maintain peace and harmony in the state,” he said.

-- BERNAMA