SABAHwill present its own data on the revenue collected by Putrajaya from the state after the federal government refused numerous times to provide the requested information.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan said the collected data would be presented to the state cabinet for endorsement before being referred to the federal government for deliberation.
“We must find a solution. We have been in talks through the Malaysia Agreement 1963 technical committee for close to a year. The period of the negotiation will now expire on July 18.
“A resolution cannot be made if we do not have a foundation based on facts. Since Putrajaya refuses to comply with Sabah's requests, then we will give it to them,” he told reporters at a press conference in Kota Kinabalu.
Jeffrey made these remarks when questioned about the outcome of the Technical Committee meeting on Malaysia Agreement 1963 chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, yesterday.
Under Article 112C of the Federal Constitution, Sabah is entitled to 40% of the revenue the federal government collects from the state under a revenue-sharing formula.
THIS was one of the terms of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) that led Sabah to agree to form Malaysia, with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore in 1963.
However, Sabah did not receive its rightful share between 1974 and 2022 and a review carried out in 2022 was only deemed as an interim measure.
The 40% revenue entitlement is just one of many unfulfilled terms of the MA63 deal, which has fuelled growing resentment among the people of Sabah toward the federal government.
While a formula to resolve the 40% conflict has been scheduled to be announced on July 18, Jeffrey said the version of the data would be presented to the federal government before the deadline in hope the solution can be made before or on the scheduled deadline.
“When I look into the numbers, I believe it's good,” said Jeffrey.
He said the technical meeting held on Tuesday had been its longest as it lasted for about four hours.
Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun had also previously noted that the data held by the federal government had been the main obstacle to resolving the 40% revenue entitlement as they are not being shared with the state.
At this point, he said the state has no problem cross-checking the total collection of the federal government via the Inland Revenue Board following the appointment of a Sabahan into the agency.
Other matters discussed at the technical meeting include tourism, the return of unused land by the federal government to the state, Borneonisation of the civil service, education, and health, he said. – May 29, 2024.
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