KUALA LUMPUR: Embattled political figure Tan Sri Musa Aman who is receiving treatment at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre is determined to hold his cards close to his chest.
This is evident from the amount of security and secrecy over the former Sabah chief minister’s presence at the hospital.
An attempted visit by NSTP to Musa’s suite in the VVIP section found that the nurses were on high alert against members of the media and ‘unauthorised visitors’.
The Sungai Sibuga assemblyman’s suite appears to be dark and unoccupied from the outside, but a man believed to be a member of his security detail was glimpsed at the door.
Two reporters attempted to gain entry to the room, on the pretext that they needed to ‘visit their employer’ – but a nurse claimed that the room was unoccupied, but nevertheless off-limits.
Meanwhile, a stream of visitors who arrived at the hospital lobby before being spirited to the room was tight-lipped towards the media.
They refused to identify themselves, and individuals identified as Musa’s aides refused comment on the state of their boss’ health.
At least 20 of the visitors in the hospital lobby could be heard conversing in a Sabahan dialect.
Meanwhile, renowned lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad was sighted at the hospital’s main entrance.
He initially declined comment on if he was visiting and/or representing Musa, who is saddled with criminal intimidation charges.
However in a text message sent later, Amer said that he was merely “visiting a friend.”
Musa is wanted by the police over a criminal intimidation report lodged by Sabah governor Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin following the swearing-in of Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal as Chief Minister, which he refused to recognise.
Musa then went missing in May, sparking much speculation, as the Immigration Department had no record of his leaving the country.
However, it was later revealed that Musa and his family had absconded to London on May 16.
Musa dismissed claims that he had left the country illegally.
A photo uploaded by his political secretary Joh Wid on Facebook on Aug 21 showed Musa dressed in a hospital gown and lying on a stretcher, with a caption stating that the politician had decided to return to Malaysia against the advice of his doctor at the Clementine Churchill Hospital in London.
He arrived in Malaysia yesterday, via Singapore.
Joh stated that Musa was first referred to the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for follow-up treatment, and that the facility has records of his medical condition dating back 30 years.