KOTA KINABALU: Talks on Sabah’s 40% net revenue claim started earlier this week, and Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is confident negotiations can be finalised within three months.
He said discussions have begun at senior official levels, led by the State Secretary for Sabah and the Treasury secretary general for the Federal Government.
He said technical discussions aim to determine the most suitable mechanism to implement the 40% revenue entitlement.
“Discussions at Menara Kinabalu are touching on mechanisms and methods of paying the 40% claims to Sabah,” he said.
“The State Secretary informed me the meeting is ongoing and negotiations have begun. We have 90 days as given by the courts, and after technical negotiations conclude, the decision will be brought to both governments,” he added on Tuesday (Nov 18).
He said specific proposals cannot be disclosed as the discussions are still technical in nature.
“They may need to meet several times to reach an agreement. So let us wait for a full report from the negotiating committee,” he added.
Hajiji said he personally asked Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim not to appeal the High Court decision on the 40% revenue ruling.
“God willing, they decided against the appeal.The Attorney General’s Chambers only appealed certain wordings it felt were unfair to the previous Federal Government,” he added.
He said he has spoken out most on the matter during Malaysia Agreement 1963 meetings.
“I am not afraid to negotiate with the Federal Government. I did not publicise it because it is not my style,” he added.
On Oct 17, the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruled the Federal Government acted unlawfully and beyond its powers by failing to fulfil Sabah’s 40% right for over four decades.
The court ordered a review within 90 days, and a mutual agreement within 180 days on Sabah’s special 40% entitlement from 1974 to 2021.
