TAWAU: The Federal Government will decide on Tuesday (Nov 11) whether to appeal the High Court ruling on Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement, with the Prime Minister stressing that the Cabinet must hear the Attorney General’s advice before making any move.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the judgment was issued only recently and the government needed to follow the legal process.
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“The High Court decision only came out three days ago. The Attorney General is the government’s legal adviser, so we have to listen to him first before deciding,” he said when met at the Digital Tour programme in Taman Semarak here on Monday.
He said the decision will be made after the Cabinet meets on Tuesday.
“Then we decide. I have already given an indication of my stance. So tomorrow we will finalise it after discussions,” he said.
Anwar questioned the confusion over the matter, saying the Federal Government had already acted on key components of the 40% entitlement.
“But ask this, what is the problem with the appeal? Have we given the 40%? We have given. Have we negotiated? We have negotiated. This Madani government negotiates. There was an increase in the special grant. How much? RM56mil. Now we give RM600mil a year. Enough? Not enough. Final? Not yet. So what is the problem with the 40%? For me, there is no problem,” he stressed.
Anwar said his personal view was that not appealing was also acceptable, but the government had to consider any constitutional implications highlighted by the Attorney General.
“Appeal or not appeal, wait until tomorrow. For me, not appealing is also okay. But if the Attorney General says that not appealing will affect the position of the Constitution, then we have to weigh that,” he said.
He said negotiations with Sabah could only continue after the state election.
“Negotiations cannot happen now because the Sabah government is a caretaker government until the election. This country follows the law. There is a process. We listen to the court first, and then we decide. Crying or getting angry has no meaning,” he said.
Anwar said the Madani government had taken a firmer position on MA63 matters and channelled higher allocations to Sabah.
