Kota Kinabalu: Senator Datuk Edward Linggu said the Federal Government’s move to seek a postponement of the implementation of a court ruling concerning Sabah’s 40 per cent share of tax revenue appears using legal technicalities to delay the implementation of Sabah’s rights as decided by the court.
“For the people of Sabah, this issue is not merely about numbers or financial formulas. It touches on justice, dignity and trust in the spirit of partnership within the Federation of Malaysia,” he said.
Linggu, who is also Secretary-General of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) Sabah, said this when participating in the debate on the Supplementary Supply Bill 2025 (2026) in the Dewan Negara on Tuesday.
At the same time, he welcomed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement on March 6 that the Federal Government had agreed to channel RM10.5 billion to the states for the maintenance of state roads as well as the distribution of tourism tax revenue.
According to him, the move is a positive development that will benefit states including Sabah.
However, he said the people of Sabah still hope that a fairer principle of partnership will be considered in the distribution of national resources, including a proposal for a 50 per cent allocation for Peninsular Malaysia and 50 per cent for the Borneo region, to be distributed equitably between Sabah and Sarawak.
He stressed that Sabahans are not demanding anything extraordinary, but simply want the rights guaranteed under the Federal Constitution to be respected and implemented with sincerity and political courage.
He added that after more than six decades of building Malaysia together, Sabahans continue to question the direction of the state’s wealth from resources such as oil, gas, timber and tourism while the state still faces basic development challenges.
