KOTA KINABALU – Sabah opposition party Warisan has expressed reservations over the need for a working committee to work on the mechanism to implement Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement, stating the federal constitution and the inter-governmental committee (IGC) report have already provided the explicit mechanism on the matter.
Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said all the statements over the withdrawal of the originating summons by the Sabah Pakatan Harapan elected representatives have somewhat become a disappointment.
Shafie referred to Article 112D, 112C and 112C (6) of the federal constitution, along with Para 24 of the IGC report as the mechanism, rendering it unnecessary for the federal government to finalise the formula to implement the revenue-sharing formula that was already agreed upon in the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
“I am very disappointed with all the statements made by them. When they said that Sabah must fight for it, they said they must bring the matter to court. I had told them there was no need to bring it to court, we negotiated,” said Shafie, referring to his time as Sabah chief minister between 2018 and 2020.
“But they have decided to bring the matter to the court. So they should have let the court decide. Why do they need to withdraw it?” he added.
Shafie’s remarks were in response to statements made by Upko president Datuk Ewon Benedick, who revealed that the federal government would decide on the formula for the implementation of the 40% revenue sharing by July 2024.
Benedick also previously mentioned the formation of a working committee by the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Technical Committee Implementation Council, led by Datuk Armizan Ali, the Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister, tasked to come up with the implementation mechanism.
The Penampang MP had cited differences in the interpretation between federal and state, whether the federal government needed to reimburse the missing funds, given its fixed payment to Sabah since 1974 and other financial arrangements are among issues causing indecision on the matter.
Shafie also stressed that the implementation of the MA63 agreement was the priority, and if the federal government faced financial constraints in fulfilling its obligations, it should seek a resolution.
“There should be no more reason saying the federal government does not have the financial capacity, but in reality, they would still be able to build a bridge in Pulau Pinang,” Shafie said in jest.
Shafie also highlighted that the 40% revenue entitlement was a crucial aspect that contributed to the formation of Malaysia in 1963, alongside state autonomy and other factors. He noted that these funds were intended to address critical areas such as healthcare and education in Sabah.
He added Warisan is now looking forward to the outcome of the judicial review filed by the Sabah Law Society over the federal government’s failure to comply with the 40% revenue entitlement.
During a recent parliamentary sitting, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan disclosed that the Customs Department and the Inland Revenue Board had recorded revenues of RM6.37 billion from Sabah.
Nevertheless, the federal government has not fully disclosed information about revenue derived from the state. – The Vibes, September 30, 2023
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