The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has filed a notice of appeal at the Kota Kinabalu High Court against part of the court’s grounds of judgment in its ruling on Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement.
It said the partial appeal filed yesterday was only against several “mistakes” in the grounds, including the allegation that the federal and state governments had abused their power and violated their constitutional obligations.
“The AGC once again emphasises that the federal government is not appealing against Sabah’s special grant based on 40% of its revenue, and will begin negotiations with the Sabah government as soon as possible,” it said in a statement.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim yesterday denied that the upcoming election in Sabah was among the AGC’s considerations in deciding to bring the partial appeal.
He said the government had accepted the court’s decision but found issues with part of the grounds of judgment, which needed to be addressed by way of appeal.
The AGC announced on Tuesday that it would not appeal the High Court’s decision affirming Sabah’s constitutional right to 40% of federal revenue derived from the state.
However, it said the government intended to challenge other “defects” in the grounds of judgment.
Anwar also told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that the court’s decision had alleged major mistakes by both federal and state governments since 1974.
The prime minister said this part of the ruling must be appealed as it unfairly condemned all past governments, including the federal administrations led by Abdul Razak Hussein and the Sabah governments led by Mustapha Harun and Fuad Stephens.
He said discussions on Sabah’s 40% entitlement would continue even while the state was under a caretaker government, with technical talks to proceed now and major decisions to be made after the election.
