KUALA LUMPUR – The five-decade contention on Sabah’s financial rights has come to a close today, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili.
He said both the state and the federal governments have endorsed all resolutions brought forth in the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) on the review of the Sabah special annual grant as per Article 112D of the federal constitution.
“A five-decade fight on claims due to the Sabah government is finally over, thanks to a ‘cordial and sensible’ discussion between the state and the federal finance ministries recently.
“I believe both Sabah and the federal government finance ministries have briefed their respective cabinets today on the outcomes of the consultation reached in the JCC meeting.
“Although, on many occasions, (both governments have been) non-compromising on each other’s legal claims and constitutional rights, I was especially proud of the Sabah government’s determination and hard work in getting what the state deserves, despite the five-decade wait.
“The state will receive an almost five times increase in annual grants, which will be more than twice the amount promised by the then Pakatan Harapan government to the Warisan-led government,” he said in a statement.
Article 112D refers to the need for the review of the special grant every five years.
However, such a review was reportedly never carried out prior to this.
Article 112C refers to the special grants and assignments of revenue for both Borneo states.
In the case of Sabah, the state is entitled to two-fifths or 40% of the revenue that the federal government collects from the state, as stated under Part IV of the Tenth Schedule.
The federal government opted for a fixed payment in 1974 after an earlier attempt by Sabah to review the special grant in 1973, but it never materialised.
It was noted that the federal government informed the Sabah government that it was not in the financial position to call for a review of the special grant at the time.
This led to Sabah being paid a fixed payment of RM26.7 million since 1974, except in 2018, when the then-federal government under Pakatan Harapan (PH) decided to double the payment.
In this year’s budget, the figure was reverted to RM26.7 million after the new Sabah government rejected the PH revenue-sharing formula.
This led to the review of the special grant by the current government.
On January 6, Maximus had noted that Putrajaya had made a counter-offer over Sabah’s submission of the urgent repayment of the state’s entitlement.
This led to Maximus announcing the formation of the JCC to look into the matter.
The PBS president had noted that both the federal and state representatives had made cordial and sensible exchanges before arriving at a consensus at the JCC meeting, which was finalised on Monday in Kota Kinabalu.
This was in relation to the federal finance minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz’s visit to the state earlier this week.
Maximus said the consensus on the revenue sharing is proof of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah state government’s capacity to defend the state rights and preserve good federal-state relations to ensure the shared prosperity vision for Sabahans.
Maximus, who was also at the meeting on Monday in Kota Kinabalu on behalf of the Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MKMA63), disclosed that the new grant formula will be signed and officiated jointly by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor at the next MKMA63 meeting, which is scheduled to take place early next month.
The JCC meeting was chaired by Zafrul on the federal government side, while Sabah Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun led the Sabah team, comprising State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong, Sabah Attorney-General Datuk Nor Asiah Mohd Yusof, legal advisors, and senior finance officers. – The Vibes, February 16, 2022
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