Kuala Lumpur: The Federal and Sabah governments will hold their first official discussion on Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement on Monday (Nov 17) at Menara Kinabalu, here, following a recent High Court ruling.
Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, who is Sabah’s representative on the Technical Committee of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Implementation Action Council, replacing Datuk Ewon Benedict, said this was decided at the Cabinet meeting on Friday.
“The mandate has been given to Treasury Secretary-General (MoF) Datuk Joehari Merican to lead for the federal side.
“The Sabah Government will be represented by State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong,” Armizan said on Friday.
The decision follows the advice of the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) that the Federal Government will not appeal the 40 per cent entitlement, which forms the basis for determining Sabah’s special grant rate under Article 112C-1A of the Federal Constitution.
Armizan, who is also Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, described the move as a proof of the Federal Government’s commitment to implementing the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s earlier decision.
“This is what has been decided and something the Federal Government has never done before. This new position is a recognition and respect by the Federal Government for the 40 per cent right,” said the Papar MP.
On Nov 11, the Federal Government announced that it would not appeal the issue of Sabah’s 40pc revenue entitlement and would immediately proceed with negotiations with the State Government.
However, the AGC subsequently filed an appeal in the Kota Kinabalu High Court against parts of the High Court’s decision, specifically concerning several errors in the Judge’s Written Grounds of Judgment.
