Kota Kinabalu: Participants at the “40 per cent - Our Right, Our Money – Understanding the 40 per cent, Rights, History & Mechanism” seminar organised by the People Development Foundation (PDF) at the Lintas Platinum Hotel on Saturday, issued a “People’s Position” Paper of what they consider non-negotiable.
The endorsed Paper will be submitted to the Chief Minister’s office, all 26 Sabah Members of Parliament, all 73 State Assemblymen and the MA63 Implementation Action Council Secretariat, latest next Wednesday.
The forum, held 10 days after the court-ordered deadline for a federal-state agreement passed with nothing delivered, brought together former Foreign Minister Tan Sri Anifah Aman as moderator, Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (Member of Parliament for Keningau), Professor James Chin of the University of Tasmania and Datuk Roger Chin, Nominated Assemblyman.
The People’s Position Paper sets out five minimum demands that forum participants will accept in any agreement between the federal and state governments: -
- The federal government must unconditionally withdraw its appeal against the High Court judgment. A Prime Minister who declares the 40 per cent “case closed” while his Attorney General fights the judgment in the Court of Appeal is not acting in good faith.
- The 40 per cent entitlement for each financial year from 1974 to 2021 must be fully calculated based on actual net federal revenue derived from Sabah, with transparent and independently auditable methodology.
- An independent oversight mechanism must be established, including civil society and professional body representatives, with a mandate to publish annual public reports.
- How the 40 per cent is spent is Sabah’s decision, and any agreement must be protected by law against unilateral revision or reversal by future federal governments.
- A new, binding timeline for negotiations and implementation must be established. Open-ended negotiations with no deadline are managed decline, not negotiations.
PDF will convene Forum 2 on “Mengawal 40%: Akauntabiliti & Ketelusan” to examine accountability and transparency in the management of the 40 per cent entitlement. Forum 3 on “Menggunakan 40%: Pembangunan Sabah, Cara Sabah” will address how Sabah’s young leaders envision deploying the 40 per cent for the future of the state.
The People Development Foundation is a Sabah-based organisation committed to building the next generation of leaders for Sabah.
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PDF is led by Interim Executive Director Tracy Patrick and Director of External Affairs Datuk Arlinsia Agang.
