KOTA KINABALU: The Federal Government’s notice of appeal on Sabah’s 40 per cent entitlement is far broader than what was publicly stated, according to former Sabah Law Society president Datuk Roger Chin.
He said the Prime Minister’s Office and Attorney General’s Chambers had earlier signalled that only defects in the judge’s reasoning would be challenged.
He noted that this created the impression that the substance of the High Court ruling was accepted and that negotiations would proceed in good faith.
He said the notice of appeal filed soon after did not reflect that assurance and instead sought to overturn key findings of the judgment.
He explained that while the appeal did not dispute the 40 per cent formula itself, it challenged the findings on the absence of lawful reviews since 1973 and the unconstitutionality of the 2022, 2023 and 2025 Gazette Orders.
He added that the appeal also targeted the court’s orders requiring constitutional damages, an accounting of sums owed, and findings that both governments had breached their constitutional duties.
He stressed that although the 40 per cent formula now stands as binding law, its practical force depends on the very findings the appeal aims to remove.
He warned that if these findings are overturned, Sabah’s entitlement would remain valid in theory but effectively unenforceable, repeating a decades-long pattern.
He said the appeal attempts to preserve the form of the entitlement while stripping away the accountability necessary to recover the Lost Years of unpaid dues.
He urged transparency from the Federal Government, saying the public deserves clarity on what is truly being appealed and what it means for both future payments and nearly five decades of arrears.
