KOTA KINABALU: The terms of discussions with the Federal Government on Sabah's 40% rights was outlined by state minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun (pic) amid a swell of questions and demand for a special motion for the state assembly to make a collective stand on the issue.
Wrapping up the debates on the Yang di-Pertua Negeri's opening speech, the Deputy Chief Minister II outlined the areas in which the state was pursuing for their revenue return from the Federal Government as well as progress of the discussions.
Reassuring the assemblymen that the state will not compromise, he said the interim payment received had increased to RM600mil in 2025 from RM125mil in 2022, after 48 years of receiving just RM26.7mil per year.
“This interim payment is not the definite amount of special grant that Sabah is entitled to,” Masidi said, explaining Sabah will still pursue its “lost years” (1974 to 2021) payments.
On issues relating to the ongoing discussions and negotiations on the 40% amount, he said four meetings have been held following the Oct 17 Kota Kinabalu High Court decision mandating a review of Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement.
Masidi said both sides have presented estimates from 1974 to 2025 and carried out data verification.
“At the same time, the Sabah government emphasises that payment must first be made for revenue components not in dispute and the special grant cannot be substituted with federal development expenditures in the state,” he said.
He said there was a need for an official ruling to be established to determine the method of revenue declarations by Sabah-based companies and non-Sabah companies operating in the state but declaring their revenue outside Sabah.
Masidi said the Sabah government is open to discussing and refining constructive solutions concerning the implementation of the payments.
He said Sabah was currently focused on payments from 2022 to 2025 and the current year to be implemented immediately according to the 40% formula under the federal constitution as it was not against the April 6 Court of Appeal decision to stay the Kota Kinabalu High Court decision.
He said the state government’s silence did not mean that it was not acting.
“In fact, every negotiation meeting does not end with discussions alone, but is followed up with official letters and continuous reiteration of Sabah’s position to press for immediate action by the Federal Government,” said Masidi, assuring the house that everyone in the house stood for the same struggle.
Referring to calls by the assemblymen for the special motion, he said that the Prime Minister agreed and respected the Constitutional 40% guarantee and it was a question of working out the amount due.
However, he said that it was for the Speaker to allow or not to allow the special motions by Chin Teck Ming (Warisan-Kepayan) and independent nominated assemblyman Datuk Roger Chin for the house to make a bipartisan and collective state stand on the issue.
Masidi said Sabah had taken up RM3.2bil federal loans for state development projects and believed that it would not need the loans if the 40% was paid up.
