Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Members of Parliament and Senators are prepared to back legal action should negotiations over the state’s 40 per cent constitutional revenue entitlement fail to yield results by the April 15 deadline set by the Kota Kinabalu High Court.
Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau who initiated the meeting said the MPs are united in their stand that should no agreement be reached by the 180-day deadline, they would support any court action deemed necessary by the Sabah Law Society (SLS) to ensure the implementation of Sabah’s constitutional rights.
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He said the move reflected the seriousness of the matter and the collective resolve among Sabah lawmakers to safeguard the state’s entitlement.
“We are very concerned about the slow pace of discussions and regret that despite the significance of the court’s decision, engagements thus far have been limited.
“It is also regrettable that non-agreement on whether or not a particular federal revenue collected is included or not is being blamed on non availability of data.
“At this stage, we are giving space for negotiations to conclude within the stipulated timeframe,” he said.
The meeting also reiterated the demand of the Sabah Government for the Federal Government to withdraw the appeal.
The meeting was informed that the Memorandum of Appeal filed by the Federal Attorney General encompasses the whole court judgment except for the existence of the 40 per cent constitutional rights as per Article 112C of the Federal Constitution.
Madius said he initiated a town hall session and a special briefing for Sabah MPs and Senators on Sabah’s long-overdue 40 per cent net revenue entitlement, held at Parliament on Tuesday.
The two-hour session was well attended as it also brought together the SLS legal team to the briefing at a meeting room in Parliament.
All parties were present. They included:
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak affairs) Datuk Mustapha Sakmud; Deputy Chief Minister cum Penampang MP Datuk Ewon Benedick, Deputy Science Technology and Innovation Minister cum Lahad Datu MP Datuk Seri Mohammad Yusof Apdal;
Senator Tan Sri Anifah Aman, Keningau MP Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, Senator Datuk Nelson Anggang, Kudat MP Datuk Verdon Bahanda, Ranau MP Datuk Jonathan Yassin, Sipitang MP Datuk Matbali Musah , Kalabakan MP Datuk Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy, Sandakan MP Vivian Wong, Tenom MP Ridwan Robin, Senator Edward Linggu; and former SLS President Datuk Roger Chin and the legal team from SLS led by President Datuk Mohamed Nazim Maduarin and the SLS Legal Team led by Jeyan Marimuthu. Beluran MP Ronald Kiandee left early to attend another meeting.
Madius called on both sides to intensify discussions, urging more frequent meetings in the remaining 44 days to iron out major outstanding disagreements and expedite the negotiation process.
“Sabah MPs have voiced concern over the slow progress in negotiations between the Federal Government and the Sabah Government following the High Court’s decision on Oct 17 last year regarding the state’s 40 per cent constitutional revenue entitlement.
“We were disappointed that 136 days after the ruling — more than four months — only three official meetings at the officers’ level had been held,” he said.
Madius stressed that time was of the essence, with the 180-day period following the High Court’s decision on Oct 17 last year nearing its end.
“With just 44 days remaining before the 180-day period ends on April 15, time was running short to reach a resolution,” he said.
He said the MPs also called on the Sabah Government to establish a federal revenue collection tracking system to serve as a mechanism to identify, quantify, analyse and store annual data beginning from 1974.
“Such a system would strengthen the state’s position in ensuring transparency and accountability in revenue matters tied to its constitutional entitlement,” he said.
