KOTA KINABALU: Political parties here have affirmed Sabah’s right to the return of 40% of federal revenue earned from the state, saying that the Federal Government’s development allocations and special grants to the state are separate matters.
To them, these federal development funds were under federal obligations.
They urged Putrajaya to honour the constitutional provisions as decided by the Kota Kinabalu High Court, which ruled on Friday that the federal administration had acted unlawfully by failing to fulfil Sabah’s right to the owed revenue for almost 50 years.
Yesterday, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told a briefing in Parliament about the Federal Government’s commitment to Sabah, saying that a special grant for Sabah had been doubled to RM600mil this year, which was the highest amount recorded to date.
However, Sabah STAR information chief Anuar Ghani said the interim payments by the Federal Government did not reflect the amount owed to Sabah.
He claimed that the Prime Minister’s statement on the issue had “missed the point”.
“It is an attempt of digression. The question on every Sabahan’s lips now is where is our 40%?
“Is the Federal Government going to comply with the court decision in accordance with the Federal Constitution or not? Show us the money,” Anuar said.
The Prime Minister said yesterday that the special grant had remained at RM26.7mil since 1969 before it was raised to RM53.4mil in 2019, RM125.6mil (2022) and RM300mil (2023).
“But what the PM referred to were the payments that are under the Federal Government’s obligations,” Anuar said.
Upko president Datuk Donald Peter Mojuntin said the party was appreciative of federal aid extended to Sabah via budget allocations, special grants and development loans.
However, he stressed that these should not be equated or combined with Sabah’s right to the 40% federal revenue derived from the state, in accordance with Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“We thank the Prime Minister for the attention and allocations given to Sabah. However, we must make it clear that these provisions – including interim payments – cannot and should not be equated with the 40% net revenue entitlement,” he said in a statement.
He said the 40% claim is not a matter of federal generosity or political discretion, but a constitutional right that has existed since the formation of Malaysia.
“What we want from the Federal Government is not just temporary payments or conditional promises, but an official recognition of Sabah’s rights as provided in the Constitution,” he said.
Mojuntin said the 40% entitlement “transcends political affiliations and is a collective effort by the people of Sabah to restore what is rightfully theirs”.
“This is not the struggle of a party or an individual – it is the struggle of the people of Sabah.
“We want implementation, not just prolonged negotiations,” he added.
Bersatu vice-president Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee raised his concern that the Federal Government’s RM600mil special payments to Sabah might undermine the state’s constitutional right to the federal revenue collected from the state.
“The RM600mil interim payment should not be seen as a substitute for Sabah’s rightful entitlement under the Federal Constitution, which guarantees the state a 40% share of net revenue collected by the federal government from Sabah.
“Sabah’s demand is for 40% of the revenue collected – not to be placated with just RM600mil.
“This is a fixed constitutional provision based on actual tax collection. The higher the revenue collected, the higher the 40% entitlement Sabah should receive,” he said.
