KOTA KINABALU: Sabah hopes that the RM1.5bil interim payment for the 40% nett entitlement will be disbursed soon.
In welcoming the announcement for the RM1.5bil interim payment by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the opening of the Kaamatan festival on Saturday, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the quick disbursement of the money will benefit the people of Sabah.
He welcomed Anwar’s assurance that the Federal Government will honour the terms of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“It proves that the Federal Government under Anwar is a responsible government that walks the talk.
“The state government will work closely with the Federal Government to ensure all the provisions under MA63, especially the 40% special grant, will be fulfilled.”
In a Bernama report, Sabah Youth Council deputy president Mohd Nur Hilmie Milus said despite the challenges faced by the Federal Government in meeting the 40% state revenue entitlement, Sabahans are urged to understand and accept the fact that Anwar is the Prime Minister who has had the courage to approve the highest interim grant in the history of the claim.
He said every prime minister had their own contributions and approaches, but Anwar had demonstrated a strong political commitment in translating the demands under MA63 from discussions into policy and major financial decisions.
“This is not merely about politicising figures, but about the political courage to recognise that Sabah deserves fairer treatment within the framework of the Malaysian Federation,” he said.
Anwar had announced that the interim special grant for Sabah has been increased to RM1.5bil from RM600mil, pending the finalisation of the implementation mechanism for the state’s 40% revenue entitlement under MA63.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak) Datuk Mustapha Sakmud had said before the change of the Federal Government in 2022, Sabah had received about RM26.7mil annually for decades, before the amount rose to RM125.6mil in 2022, RM300mil in 2023 and 2024, and RM600mil in 2025 and 2026, before being increased to RM1.5bil.
Mohd Nur Hilmie said the historic achievement could not be separated from Hajiji, who chose a path of mature negotiations, maintained a strategic relationship with the Federal Government, while remaining firm in championing Sabah’s rights.
He said the diplomatic approach proved that pursuing state rights and MA63 did not necessarily require Sabah to adopt a confrontational stance with Putrajaya.
