KUALA LUMPUR – Politicians based in the peninsula have been told to stop obsessing about controlling Sabah and Sarawak as “neo-colonies”, said Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan.
The Sabah Star president said since the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Sabah and Sarawak have not been treated as equal partners in the Federation.
“All that Sabahans and Sarawakians want is for the federal government to treat us equally and grant us our rights as agreed upon in the Malaysia Agreement 1963, the inter-governmental commission report, and other provisions of the federal constitution.
“The time has come to put words into action and develop Sabah and Sarawak under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).
“The RM400 billion development fund under the plan must be distributed using the 50:25:25 ratio, which is RM100 billion each for Sabah and Sarawak,” he said when debating 12MP in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
The Keningau MP said Putrajaya has the option of continuing with the outdated arrangement of giving Sabah and Sarawak a pitiful 8% to 10% of the development fund, or allocating half to the regions accordingly.
Before dismissing this suggestion, the federal government should listen to the voices of secessionists actively advocating for the removal of Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia, he said.
He said despite the many promises made by DAP and PKR during their polls campaigns in the past, such as those on 20% oil royalty and returning 50% of the net revenue derived by the federal government from Sabah, nothing has been accomplished except for the RM30 e-wallet.
“Worse, the former prime minister and the former Sabah chief minister in 2019 conspired to replace the 40% obligation with a paltry RM53.4 million over the next five years.
“Despite promising to reclaim 80% of our oil rights and fight for the full 40% with a RM1 trillion back payment, Warisan senior leaders obediently acquiesced to the RM53.4 million.
“Semporna MP (Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal) and the Warisan Plus government also did not dare demand the sales tax on oil and gas like what the Sarawak government did.
“The Pakatan Harapan government opposed Sarawak’s right to this tax, until the state government took the matter to court and won its claim.”
He said former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was different, describing the latter as the best prime minister for Sabah and Sarawak thus far.
“It is no surprise that Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah back the current prime minister, because Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has Muhyiddin’s support.
“The federal government under Muhyiddin agreed to the Sabah government’s request to set aside the RM53.4 million in lieu of the 40%, so that the provision under the federal constitution can be fulfilled.
“Muhyiddin has formed the National Consultative Committee, comprising representatives of the federal government, Sabah government and Sarawak government, to review special grants under Article 112D of the constitution.
“Unfortunately, due to political turmoil, the first meeting, which had been scheduled at end-August, could not be held.”
If the committee is continued, he said, it could restore Sabah and Sarawak’s financial rights, further contributing to development funding for both regions in line with the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 and Malaysian Family tag line.
Jeffrey called on Putrajaya to research and allow the cultivation of industrial hemp and cannabis in Sabah.
“This is for the hemp industry and medical use, which is legal in many countries around the world.
“The cultivation and downstream production of these two high-value crops can help increase agricultural yield and industrialisation in Sabah.
“Agriculture and industrialisation are two of the three main thrusts of the Sabah Maju Jaya 1.0 Development Plan (2021-2025). It is hoped that the government will take the necessary steps to allow the cultivation and downstream production of these two crops.” –The Vibes, October 5, 2021
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