KOTA KINABALU: A federal application to stay part of a High Court order on Sabah’s 40 per cent special grant will not affect the state’s constitutional entitlement, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak) Datuk Ts. Mustapha Sakmud.
He said the application, filed pending an appeal against the High Court’s Oct 17, 2025 decision, is intended to allow further negotiations and technical review on how the federal government’s net revenue from Sabah is calculated.
“The application for a stay of execution does not affect the principle of Sabah’s 40 per cent special grant claim, but provides space for both parties to continue negotiations and a more detailed examination of the federal net revenue derived from Sabah,” he said in a statement.
Mustapha said federal and state officials have been holding technical discussions since November 2025, including reviewing revenue data from 2007 to 2025 and verifying older records from the so-called “Lost Years”.
The stay application will be heard at the Court of Appeal on March 31, while the 180-day period linked to the court order is expected to end on April 15, 2026.
He added that differing positions taken by the Sabah government and the Sabah Law Society in opposing the stay application should be respected as part of a democratic system, stressing that all parties ultimately share the same goal of safeguarding Sabah’s constitutional rights.
