GABUNGAN Rakyat Sabah (GRS) deputy secretary-general Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali criticised the previous Warisan-led state government for failing to obtain a fairer revenue share for Sabah, contrasting its record with higher special grants negotiated under the current administration.
Armizan said Warisan’s 2019 decision to accept a revision of Sabah’s federal “special grant” from RM26.7 million to RM53.4 million was “a sign of weakness” after more than four decades without review, despite the party’s pledge to champion the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“That amount was extremely small after 45 years without revision, far from the 40% entitlement guaranteed under the Constitution,” he said in a statement issued in Papar on Sunday, as election activity in Sabah gathers pace.
The grant, outlined under Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution, requires that 40% of federal revenue collected in Sabah be returned to the state government.
The formula, long disputed, is meant to be reviewed every five years but halted after its first review in the late 60s.
There was not reviews ever since until GRS took power in 2020 despite it being constitutionally required.
When GRS took power in 2020, the federal and state governments formally signed and gazetted a new Special Grant Review Order in 2022, the first such legal update since the 1970s.
Armizan said the Warisan government had accepted an advance payment of RM53 million ‘without prejudice’, but no formal agreement or gazette was issued during its tenure.
He said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor later reopened talks with the Finance Ministry, lifting the state’s annual grant to RM125.6 million in 2022, and subsequently to RM300 million (2023), RM306 million (2024) and RM600 million starting 2025 under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.
“The positive outcome shows what can be achieved through principled negotiation and cooperation between the federal and state governments,” Armizan said, adding that the higher payments were an interim arrangement that did not affect Sabah’s ongoing claim to the full 40 per cent formula.
He also questioned why Warisan’s cabinet — which then included three federal ministers and two deputy ministers, did not push for a stronger deal when it was part of the Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya.
Among Warisan’s federal ministers at the time were Datuk Darell Leiking (International Trade and Industry), Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi (Tourism, Arts and Culture) and the late Datuk Liew Vui Keong (Law Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department).
“Why did the Warisan government settle for so little when it had the leverage to demand more?” Armizan asked. - October 12, 2025
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