Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today that Putrajaya cannot remain silent in the face of a judgment in the Sabah 40% revenue court ruling that labels actions since 1974 as unlawful, illegal, irrational, procedurally improper, or disproportionate.
He said such a “severe” judgment is unprecedented and would affect the entire structure of government “since the beginning”.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers announced on Tuesday that it will not appeal the 40% entitlement, which is protected under the Federal Constitution, but will challenge “defects” in the High Court judgment.
The judgment found the post-2021 review to be illegal, irrational, procedurally improper and disproportionate, to which the AGC said that the federal government intends to appeal these issues.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, Anwar said the judgment also alleged major mistakes and neglect by the federal and state governments since 1974.
“Without an appeal, the ruling could effectively penalise the federal government under Tun (Abdul) Razak (Hussein) and successive administrations since 1974, as well as all state governments, including those led by Tun Mustapha Harun and Tun Fuad Stephens, and the political parties involved,” he said when justifying the federal government’s decision.
MORE TO COME
