KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) leadership council has threatened to take legal action in challenging the validity of the answers given by Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz on Sabah’s special grant.
In a joint statement today, leaders of Sabah PH’s parties – United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko), Sabah PKR, Sabah DAP, and Sabah Amanah – said that if the state government fails to get the 40% revenue return from the federal government within a month, the group will be taking the case to court to challenge the matter.
The decision, they said, was made following their meeting at Upko’s headquarters here today.
“Sabah PH would like to state our dissatisfaction over Tengku Zafrul’s reply in the Dewan Rakyat that states the formula of 40% revenue return from the federal government to Sabah under Article 112C and 112D is no longer in use because there had been a new agreement produced between the Sabah government and the federal government.
“Sabah PH will take legal action to challenge the validity of Tengku Zafrul’s statement, more so that the new agreement that was mentioned was made during the emergency declaration from 1969 to 1971, and involved a government gazette that was kept secret from the people of Sabah,” they said.
The leaders cited in support of the statement include Upko president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, Sabah PKR chief Datuk Christina Liew, Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung and Sabah Amanah chief Lahirul Latigu.
They said that while Sabah PH welcomes the Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s assurance during the state assembly that the state government will continue to fight for the 40% revenue return from the federal government, they do not want to see that becoming political rhetoric.
“As such, we are giving a one-month period to the Sabah government to get the revenue return as stipulated in Article 112C and 112D of the federal constitution, which is based on the 40% formula or a better negotiation (for Sabah).
“If the Sabah government fails, Sabah PH, especially our MPs and assemblymen will not hesitate to take legal action in court to challenge this matter,” they said.
They added that if it is true that there is a government gazette that has been kept hidden from the people of Sabah pertaining to the 40% revenue return that was issued during the emergency declaration period, then it is a lie on the formation of Malaysia through the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Following this development, Sabah PH will hold a forum involving legal practitioners and concerned Sabahans to discuss the failure of the federal government to grant Sabah’s rights based on the 40% formula.
“Sabah PH will continue to honour the federal constitution and Sabah state constitution to claim the rights of Sabah as stipulated in the MA63,” they added.
Yesterday, Sepanggar Warisan MP Datuk Azis Jamman said that there is a government gazette in 1970 that has been kept confidential and a secret from the public, which contains information that the federal government and Sabah state government had agreed to revise the 40% formula under Article 112C.
Sabah Star president Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, however, said that the said government gazette was not a secret as it was published in the government’s official gazette. – The Vibes, March 25, 2022
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