A CRUCIALl meeting to decide on Sabah’s long-standing claim to 40% of federal revenue collected from the state did not take place as planned because the letter to initiate it was never sent.
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan revealed that the letter, which was supposed to be dispatched by the State Secretary’s Office, was inexplicably never issued, despite the Sabah Cabinet having agreed to hold the meeting on June 30.
“I had written to the Chief Minister. This was the decision or this was the proposal to the technical committee that Sabah was prepared to host this meeting on June 30.
“The Chief Minister has brought it to Cabinet and we discussed and agreed to host it. Then we were supposed to send a letter to the Prime Minister.
“But when we checked, the letter was not sent. So I wanted an explanation for this now,” he told reporters during a Sabah STAR convention held in Kota Kinabalu on Tuesday.
The June 30 meeting was announced in March as part of ongoing negotiations under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) framework, where a decision on the 40% revenue entitlement would be made.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who chairs the federal technical committee under the MA63 Implementation Action Council, had also been notified of Sabah’s readiness to host the session, following a meeting held last March 14.
Under the agreed process, the outcome of the technical committee meeting would then be presented to the Prime Minister, who chairs the MA63 Implementation Council, for final approval.
However, as Jeffrey revealed, no meeting was held because the formal note to initiate the session was never sent, despite the state Cabinet’s earlier approval.
Kitingan expressed disappointment that an internal oversight may have derailed what could have been a historic step forward, and said he is now seeking clarification on why the letter was not dispatched.
Asked if the failure was due to internal sabotage or mere negligence, Kitingan said he could not speculate without the full facts.
“I can’t explain… because in the system, it did not indicate any negativity. It was all agreed and we decided to host it. We are prepared to host.
“We even decided it could be held at the Sabah International Convention Centre… So I have no explanation. Of course I am disappointed as we are looking forward to trying to get a conclusion to the 40% revenue entitlement,” he said.
He said no new date has been set for the crucial meeting and that he is now waiting for formal clarification from the State Secretary Office on the matter. - July 1, 2025
