KOTA KINABALU: The Court of Appeal here has allowed an unprecedented arrangement to allow up to 250 people to follow the hearing concerning Sabah’s constitutional 40% entitlement live through a closed-circuit audiovisual transmission from the courtroom.
Nominated assemblyman Datuk Roger Chin said with this arrangement, it is hoped that Sabahans would spend time to come for the hearing as a form of support for the continued efforts taken to bring this matter to court.
“The Court of Appeal will hear the Federal Government’s appeal on Sabah’s constitutional 40% entitlement at the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex on Oct 29 starting 9am,” he said in a statement Tuesday (Sept 29).
He said the appeal followed the Oct 17, 2025, High Court decision allowing the state to pursue its state rights and 40% entitlement review.
However, the Federal Government has appealed against part of that decision, including the High Court’s findings and orders relating to the years from 1974 to 2021, Chin recalled.
He said this coming Oct 29 hearing provides Sabahans an opportunity to attend the Court Complex, sit within the premises of the Court and follow the hearing in real time, as closely as possible to being physically present inside the courtroom itself.
He said at previous hearings, only a small number of people could be accommodated inside the courtroom, leaving many Sabahans who cared deeply about the case unable to hear the arguments or witness the proceedings as they unfolded.
Chin said by making the conference hall available, the Court has effectively extended public access beyond the physical walls of the courtroom while preserving the dignity, security and solemnity of the judicial process.
“The Sabah Law Society’s initiative in seeking wider public access should be recognised, while the Court and court administration are to be commended for facilitating this exceptional arrangement and giving practical effect to the principle of open justice,” he said.
He said the 40% entitlement concerns the constitutional formula under which Sabah is entitled to an annual special grant equivalent to two-fifths of the net revenue derived by the Federation from Sabah exceeding the corresponding net revenue derived in 1963, subject to the review mechanism prescribed by Article 112D.
More fundamentally, it concerns a solemn constitutional promise made to Sabah, the place of the State within the Federation and the constitutional future of present and succeeding generations of Sabahans, Chin said.
“A constitutional promise is not honoured merely by remembering it; it is honoured by fulfilling it,” he said.
He said the Federal Government maintains that the fixed grant payable under the First Review Order remained legally effective from 1974 until it was superseded in 2022, whereas the Sabah Law Society maintains that the failure to review and provide for Sabah’s constitutional entitlement for the 48 years from 1974 to 2021 was unlawful.
Those competing positions, together with questions concerning jurisdiction and the relief granted by the High Court, will now be considered by the Court of Appeal, said Chin.
He said the outcome will be determined by the Court according to the Constitution and the law, and the independence, dignity and authority of the judicial process must be respected fully.
He said the purpose of attending is not to prejudge the appeal, exert pressure upon the Court or influence its decision, but to allow an informed, peaceful and engaged people to bear witness to a constitutional question that belongs to all Sabahans.
The Court will decide the legal issues independently, while the people of Sabah can demonstrate through their attendance and dignified participation that they understand their constitutional history, appreciate what is at stake and care about the future of their state, Chin said.
