After eight requests, Sabah will furnish own calculation of federal govt’s 40pc debt to state, says DCM
KOTA KINABALU, May 29 — After numerous attempts to obtain data and figures from the federal government to claim its constitutional right to 40 per cent of the state’s revenue, Sabah will resort to calculating the figures on its own and present them for discussion.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan said that the one-year deadline to resolve the outstanding issues on the state’s rights within the Malaysian Agreement 1963 was drawing near and a resolution on the 40 per cent right had yet to be reached.
“We need the data to resolve this issue and we have asked the federal government to furnish us with the details eight times prior to this, but they did not reply to us.
“So we have proposed that we will get it ourselves and ask the federal government to approve it. I have seen it, and it looks good to me,” said Kitingan, adding that he asked for updates following the MA63 special technical committee meeting held recently.
He said that the data and figures calculated by the state would be endorsed by the state Cabinet before being presented to the federal government.
He said that the state has resorted to this move as an initiative to begin proper discussions on how to get its claim before the July 18 deadline, where he said the Federal Constitution provides for Sabah to appoint an independent assessor to calculate and provide the data.
The four-hour meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof discussed other issues on Borneonisation and devolution of power, but the 40 per cent claim remains among the more crucial issues.
The 40 per cent return of revenue to the state is enshrined in the Federal Constitution under Article 112C and 112D but has not been paid since 1974.
Pending the ongoing negotiations, the federal government has gazetted interim amounts to be paid from RM125.6 million in 2022 and from the RM260 million announced in January 2023 to RM300 million in July 2023.
The Sabah Law Society has taken the federal government to court disputing this move and to compel it to fulfil its constitutional obligation to Sabah.
