KOTA KINABALU: Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) accused opposition Parti Warisan for betraying Sabah’s interests by accepting the RM53mil special grant in 2019 when it was the ruling state government.
GRS deputy secretary-general Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal must explain to the people why the special grant amount was accepted by the Warisan state government.
He said Warisan had failed to defend Sabah’s rights when it accepted an increase from RM26.7mil (since 1973) to only RM53.4mil in the Federal Budget presented on Oct 11, 2019.
Armizan said that when GRS took over the state government in 2020, Chief Minister Hajiji Noor wrote to the federal Finance Ministry on Dec 7, 2020 to withdraw the Warisan-era agreement.
“GRS renegotiations raised the grant to RM125.6mil for 2022. Under the federal Madani administration, the special grant rose to RM300mil in 2023, RM306mil in 2024, and RM600mil from 2025 as an interim arrangement without prejudice to Sabah’s claim to a full 40% revenue return formula,” he said when launching the GRS Limbahau division election machinery in Papar on Sunday (Oct 12)..
“Warisan’s decision to accept such a small figure showed a failure to honour the trust of the state and its people. The Warisan leadership must explain why they did not demand a more reasonable rate for Sabah,” he added.
