PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says he has not received any information on whether Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick has resigned.
The Prime Minister said the Penampang MP was present at the Cabinet meeting he chaired here yesterday morning.
“Not yet,” Anwar told reporters briefly after performing Friday prayers at Surau Al Quddus, Precinct 16 here yesterday.
He was asked if Ewon attended the Cabinet meeting and if he had received any information on the resignation of the Upko president, Bernama reported.
Ewon had expressed his willingness to resign from the Cabinet if the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) files an appeal against the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s decision on Oct 17 affirming Sabah’s constitutional right to a 40% revenue entitlement.
On Oct 18, the AGC said it will study the written grounds of judgment regarding Sabah’s entitlement to 40% of federal revenue derived from the state before taking any further action.
It said the court had directed the Federal and Sabah governments to conduct a further review of the Special Grant for the years 1974 to 2021.
The High Court had given the Federal and Sabah governments 90 days to complete the review of the Special Grant for that period, and 180 days to reach a final agreement.
The judge made the ruling after allowing the Sabah Law Society’s (SLS) application for a judicial review, which contended that both the Federal and Sabah governments had breached their constitutional duties by failing to legally review the payments.
The case centred on the interpretation of Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution.
Article 112C deals with special grants and the assignment of revenue to Sabah and Sarawak, while Article 112D provides for periodic reviews of the grants.
