The recent court ruling affirming Sabah’s entitlement to 40% of federal revenue collected from the state must be thoroughly reviewed to ensure mechanisms are understood clearly to avoid any complications in the future.
Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said a thorough review was crucial to safeguard Sabah’s rights as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and to ensure that any decisions taken by the Cabinet on the matter comply with the Federal Constitution.
“Yesterday afternoon (Friday), the 109-page written judgment was released and is currently being examined by the Attorney-General’s Chambers. The judgment must be carefully reviewed so that the overall mechanisms are fully understood, and that there are no irregularities or actions that contravene the constitution.
“For example, (reaching an agreement with the state government) within 180 days, what happens if it is exceeded? Currently, we understand that the Sabah government is an interim administration, so certain policy decisions with financial implications cannot be taken,” he said.
Fahmi, who is also the communications minister, was speaking to reporters after attending the “Hari Bersama Komuniti” and Youth Engagement programme at the National Information Dissemination Centre (Nadi) in Putatan here today.
The Kota Kinabalu High Court, in its Oct 17 ruling, directed the federal government to conduct a review with Sabah to determine the state’s 40% entitlement for each financial year from 1974 to 2021.
The court had also ordered that the review must commence within 90 days and be completed within 180 days.
Yesterday, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s Presidential Council urged the federal government not to file an appeal against the ruling.
Fahmi said he believes Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will provide a comprehensive assessment of the matter upon his arrival in Kota Kinabalu tonight for his working visit tomorrow and the day after.
He also reaffirmed that the government remains committed to defending Sabah’s rights and ensuring justice for its people.
“We will continue to fight to ensure justice for Sabah. This is a matter that the prime minister emphasised at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.
“The government is the administration that has fulfilled and resolved nine out of 13 claims under MA63 within three years.
“This government is also the first federal government to increase interim payments (to Sabah) from RM126 million to RM300 million, and subsequently doubled again to RM600 million,” he said.
