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KOTA KINABALU: The federal government must state its total revenue from Sabah, says Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee (pic).
The Bersatu vice-president added that if this is not done, the RM600mil interim special grant payment for 2025 will just be seen as a political sweetener
Kiandee said the true value of the tax received from Sabah would enable a more transparent and accurate calculation of the Constitutional requirement for the 40% revenue grant to the state.
"This is because the interim special grant of RM600mil must be based on the value of the tax collection that has been identified, where there is an opinion that Sabah's tax collection has now reached a value greater than actual expectations," said Kiandee.
"Without knowing the true value of the tax collection from Sabah, the interim special grant of RM600mil can only be described as political sweetener from the Federal Government to the people of Sabah," he added in his Malaysia Day message on Monday (Sept 16).
Under Article 109 of the Federal Constitution, the central government has an obligation to provide financial allocations to all states in the Federation.
However, he said for Sabah there is an additional mandatory allocation of 40% which needs to be given under Article 112C of the Federal Constitution.
"This allocation is a fixed allocation calculated from the amount of tax collected in Sabah which is then given to the Federation.
"The bigger the tax collection, the bigger the 40% grant Sabah needs to receive," he said.
Kiandee said that though he welcomed Putrajaya's move to double the special interim grant from RM300mil in 2024 to RM600mil in 2025, it does not resolve the main issue of restoring the mandatory allocation of 40% to Sabah under Article 112C of the Federal Constitution.
"The Federal Government and the Sabah Government need to acknowledge that this interim payment does not reflect the position of a permanent grant of 40% to Sabah under the Article 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution," said Kiandee.
He added that the special interim payment should be converted to a fixed payment of 40% under the Constitution and said that the grant is not a solution
"The existence of Sabah in Malaysia should be respected and treated as an equal partner in all aspects including in matters of development procurement," Kiandee, who is also Sabah Bersatu chairman, said.
