MINISTER of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development, Datuk Ewon Benedick, confirmed that he will resign as a member of the Federal Cabinet.
The matter was announced by the President of the United Kinabalu Progressive Organization (Upko) in a statement on Facebook.
“I will send a letter to the Prime Minister, YAB Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to inform him of my resignation as a member of the Federal Cabinet.
"I wish to express my gratitude to the prime minister for the opportunity to serve in the federal Cabinet, which allowed me to advocate for Sabah's rights and principles," he said.
Ewon was previously reported to have attended a farewell ceremony organised by his ministry staff in Putrajaya yesterday, and sources said that he also stated that he would be on leave from November 11 to 29, but at that time he did not mention his resignation.
In a meeting with KUSKOP staff and agencies in Temerloh last week, he was quoted as saying that it might be his last speech as the KUSKOP Minister and thanked everyone who served in the ministry, in addition to definitely returning to serve Sabah.
Under Upko's party constitution, Ewon added that one of the objectives of the party's formation is to champion and uphold the Malaysia Agreement (MA63) and the rights of Sabah under the Federal Constitution.
The Sabah Pakatan Harapan chairman said that he cannot support any decision that contradicts the Kota Kinabalu High Court's ruling on Oct 17 related to state constitutional rights.
He said that the position and views expressed by the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) as stated in the written judgment, among other things, ignored the history of the formation of the Federation of Malaysia which included the conditions for Sabah's agreement to join the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia, as stated through the basic documents of the Constitution.
"I cannot agree with the AGC's position and views. AGC is a legal advisor to the Prime Minister and the Federal Government.
"It would be highly inappropriate for me to continue serving in the federal while the AGC maintains a stance that I believe will remain unchanged."
On October 18, the AGC announced that it would examine the reasons for the Kota Kinabalu High Court's judgment regarding the Sabah State Special Grant before taking any follow-up action.
According to the AGC statement, the court on October 17 ruled that the Federal Government and the Sabah government must conduct another review of the Sabah State Special Grant for the period 1974 to 2022.
The case focused on the interpretation of Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution.
Article 112C deals with special grants and revenue distribution to Sabah and Sarawak, while Article 112D stipulates periodic reviews of the grants.
On October 24, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim confirmed that he had not received a notice from Ewon, who allegedly wanted to resign from the Cabinet regarding the issue. – November 8, 2025
