KOTA KINABALU: The Prime Minister and federal government should view fulfilling Sabah’s constitutional 40% entitlement as an investment, not a cost, said Parti Warisan.
Strategic Communication Director for the party, Christopher Masudal, said improved infrastructure and investment readiness in Sabah will attract both foreign and domestic investors to establish manufacturing, logistics and downstream industries.
He said while these investors may initially benefit from tax incentives, the federal government will, in the long run, enjoy increased revenue through personal income tax, export duties, consumption taxes and expanded economic activity.
He said job creation in Sabah will also reduce the forced migration of Sabahan youths to Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Selangor, thereby easing urban congestion and social pressures in Peninsular Malaysia.
Therefore, what has been agreed constitutionally must be implemented without further delay - no more rhetoric, no more political drama and no more procedural filibustering, Masudal said.
He said this in a statement following His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim's Parliamentary opening speech on the need to respect the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), among other things.
On this, he said the King’s message which emphasised unity, mutual respect, constitutional responsibility and the primacy of national interest, serves as a timely and necessary reminder of the foundational principles upon which Malaysia was formed.
In supporting His Majesty’s call, Masudal said the country formed through MA63 - a solemn constitutional compact that united peninsula Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners - is a historical reality that must never be diluted, forgotten or selectively remembered.
“While MA63 successfully brought together three distinct regions under one Federation, it also imposed a moral and constitutional obligation on political leaders to treat Sabah with dignity and equality and to refrain from parochial attitudes whenever they engage with Sabah,” he said.
He said the Madani government must remember that guarantees under the MA63 were not symbolic gestures but the very conditions upon which the Federation was built and failure to honour them undermines trust in the federal system itself.
Masudal said the Federal Government must not appeal against the High Court’s decision on Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement even though it has the legal right to do so, because persisting with the appeal will only deepen distrust.
“Warisan also fully supports and thanks the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for his principled reminder that while state rights must be respected, national interests remain paramount. These two objectives are not contradictory - they are mutually reinforcing,” he said.
He added that the 40% entitlement is not merely a fiscal claim but a strategic economic necessity for Sabah.
“Sabah's perfect geographical position at the heart of Asean and the Asia-Pacific region places it in a prime position to emerge as Asia’s next trade and investment gateway,” said Masudal.
However, this potential cannot be realised or tapped while the state continues to struggle with dilapidated roads, unstable electricity supply, irregular water access and recurring floods that severely inhibit economic growth, he said.
“Flooding alone costs Sabah millions of ringgit annually in infrastructure damage, disrupted logistics and lost productivity. Without adequate fiscal capacity, these structural problems will persist, discouraging investment and stunting development,” he added.
