KOTA KINABALU – Opposition party Warisan expressed its support for the judicial review application filed by the Sabah Law Society (SLS) over the state’s 40% revenue entitlement as it “should not bow down to Putrajaya”.
Warisan youth chief and Sepanggar MP Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman said Putrajaya should be brought to court in order for Sabah to claim its rights as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the federal constitution.
“The fight for Sabah’s rights and the future of the Sabahans. Never bow down to Putrajaya’s political power,” he said in a statement today.
He was commenting on the SLS’ move to file its application for a judicial review over the disputed 40% revenue entitlement last Thursday.
Azis said he will raise the issue again in the coming parliamentary sitting seeing that the Finance Ministry has yet to answer his questions.
He added that the fight for the return of funds should be above politics because it involves Sabahans’ rights, interests and future.
He said that after receiving contradictory statements from ministers (on whether the 40% formula still applies), Zafrul revealed a government gazette that clearly stated that the (fixed rate of RM26.7 million agreed upon in 1969) is only effective for five years from January 1, 1969, until 1974.
Azis said the gazette should have been void because it was produced during the emergency and the Emergency Ordinance 1969, which was enforced following the May 13, 1969 tragedy, had been abolished in 2011.
“Any gazette that was approved during the emergency period should also be moot six months from the abolishment date.”
The revenue entitlement has been a subject of much discussion in Sabah. – The Vibes, June 11, 2022
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