Murray Hunter
The X factor in Borneo politics
There are just too many riches for the patronage system to go
Dec 31, 2024
I received a WhatsApp me message from a Sabahan friend describing the ‘family tree’ around soon to be Sabah Governor Musa Aman. After working in Sabah and Sarawak for a decade and regularly meeting politicians, civil servants, and other notable people, it came as no surprise the names mentioned in the WhatsApp message.
In both Sabah and Sarawak, the corridors of power are part of the family. Large families, small circles make for few degrees of separation in Borneo politics.
This is a factor that many political commentators outside of Borneo forget about – the power of clan. Many alliances (and estrangements) are a result of such family ties. Maybe some Borneo watchers can elaborate much more deeply than I can.
All I can say is that weddings and birthday parties in Borneo, I could see ministers, MPs, high ranking civil servants, judges, lawyers, and other notable people at the same gatherings.
Semenangjung based political parties in Borneo are really in the hands of locals, who use these parties for their convenience. You can see the hopping that goes on. Clan and political affiliation all influence what goes on.
Just like Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak are also ‘nations within nations’ controlled by powerful families. What’s most interesting, these families may at a future time have a major say on ‘who rules Malaysia’ after the next election. That’s why there was never any attempt by the MACC for investigate the ‘white haired man’.
Here is the WhatsApp message below (I can’t vouch for the accuracy).
Most people, including many Sabahans, may not know this story.
WHO IS Musa Aman?
Tan Sri Musa Aman hails from Kampung Bingkul in Beaufort, the same district where I am from.
The grandfather of Tan Sri Musa Aman, Haji Aman (father to Musa’s father), originated from Pakistan. Haji Aman had a brother, Haji Beche, who was the father of Puan Sri Ruffiah, the wife of Tan Sri Harris Salleh, a former Chief Minister of Sabah during the BERJAYA era. It was under Harris Salleh’s administration that lands were allocated to FELDA. Therefore, Puan Sri Ruffiah is a first cousin to Tan Sri Musa Aman.
Haji Aman, Musa’s father, had four wives.
1. His first wife was also of Pakistani descent.
2. His second wife was of Dusun Tambunan/Keningau descent. With this second wife, he had six children:
The eldest, a daughter, married Tan Sri Hamid Egoh, a former Sabah State Secretary during the BERJAYA era.
The second, Datuk Ayob Aman, was a minister during the BERJAYA administration.
The third was another daughter.
The fourth was Tan Sri Musa Aman himself.
The fifth was Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, who later became Malaysia’s Foreign Minister.
The youngest, Datuk Norcahaya Arsad, is now a judge in Sabah.
Datuk Norcahaya’s surname, Arsad, comes from OKK Arsad, a former District Chief of Keningau. After Norcahaya's mother passed away shortly after her birth, she was raised by OKK Arsad and took his name.
WHY DID Pairin and Jeffrey Kitingan STAY SILENT?
Interestingly, the grandmother of Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan (former Sabah Chief Minister) was a sibling to Musa Aman’s mother. This makes Tan Sri Musa Aman the uncle of both Pairin and his brother, Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan.
Similarly, Ongkili (the father of Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, a former federal minister) was a first cousin to Musa Aman’s mother, making Maximus another nephew of Musa Aman.
When Musa Aman became Sabah’s Chief Minister, Pairin had no choice but to rejoin BN, aligning himself with his uncle. Jeffrey, despite being an opposition figure, also refrained from challenging Musa too aggressively because of their family ties.
And that’s how the story goes!
So, whether Putra Jaya, Penang, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, and even Jakarta, the influence of family clans on ‘who rules’ is under-estimated. The only person who really considered the ‘clan factor’ was Michael Backman of ‘The Asian Insider’ fame back in the 1990s. Political commentators, analysts, pundits, and know it alls, forgot about this approach.
There are just too many riches for the patronage system to go.
Dec 31, 2024
I received a WhatsApp me message from a Sabahan friend describing the ‘family tree’ around soon to be Sabah Governor Musa Aman. After working in Sabah and Sarawak for a decade and regularly meeting politicians, civil servants, and other notable people, it came as no surprise the names mentioned in the WhatsApp message.
In both Sabah and Sarawak, the corridors of power are part of the family. Large families, small circles make for few degrees of separation in Borneo politics.
This is a factor that many political commentators outside of Borneo forget about – the power of clan. Many alliances (and estrangements) are a result of such family ties. Maybe some Borneo watchers can elaborate much more deeply than I can.
All I can say is that weddings and birthday parties in Borneo, I could see ministers, MPs, high ranking civil servants, judges, lawyers, and other notable people at the same gatherings.
Semenangjung based political parties in Borneo are really in the hands of locals, who use these parties for their convenience. You can see the hopping that goes on. Clan and political affiliation all influence what goes on.
Just like Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak are also ‘nations within nations’ controlled by powerful families. What’s most interesting, these families may at a future time have a major say on ‘who rules Malaysia’ after the next election. That’s why there was never any attempt by the MACC for investigate the ‘white haired man’.
Here is the WhatsApp message below (I can’t vouch for the accuracy).
Most people, including many Sabahans, may not know this story.
WHO IS Musa Aman?
Tan Sri Musa Aman hails from Kampung Bingkul in Beaufort, the same district where I am from.
The grandfather of Tan Sri Musa Aman, Haji Aman (father to Musa’s father), originated from Pakistan. Haji Aman had a brother, Haji Beche, who was the father of Puan Sri Ruffiah, the wife of Tan Sri Harris Salleh, a former Chief Minister of Sabah during the BERJAYA era. It was under Harris Salleh’s administration that lands were allocated to FELDA. Therefore, Puan Sri Ruffiah is a first cousin to Tan Sri Musa Aman.
Haji Aman, Musa’s father, had four wives.
1. His first wife was also of Pakistani descent.
2. His second wife was of Dusun Tambunan/Keningau descent. With this second wife, he had six children:
The eldest, a daughter, married Tan Sri Hamid Egoh, a former Sabah State Secretary during the BERJAYA era.
The second, Datuk Ayob Aman, was a minister during the BERJAYA administration.
The third was another daughter.
The fourth was Tan Sri Musa Aman himself.
The fifth was Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, who later became Malaysia’s Foreign Minister.
The youngest, Datuk Norcahaya Arsad, is now a judge in Sabah.
Datuk Norcahaya’s surname, Arsad, comes from OKK Arsad, a former District Chief of Keningau. After Norcahaya's mother passed away shortly after her birth, she was raised by OKK Arsad and took his name.
WHY DID Pairin and Jeffrey Kitingan STAY SILENT?
Interestingly, the grandmother of Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan (former Sabah Chief Minister) was a sibling to Musa Aman’s mother. This makes Tan Sri Musa Aman the uncle of both Pairin and his brother, Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan.
Similarly, Ongkili (the father of Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, a former federal minister) was a first cousin to Musa Aman’s mother, making Maximus another nephew of Musa Aman.
When Musa Aman became Sabah’s Chief Minister, Pairin had no choice but to rejoin BN, aligning himself with his uncle. Jeffrey, despite being an opposition figure, also refrained from challenging Musa too aggressively because of their family ties.
And that’s how the story goes!
So, whether Putra Jaya, Penang, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, and even Jakarta, the influence of family clans on ‘who rules’ is under-estimated. The only person who really considered the ‘clan factor’ was Michael Backman of ‘The Asian Insider’ fame back in the 1990s. Political commentators, analysts, pundits, and know it alls, forgot about this approach.
There are just too many riches for the patronage system to go.
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