Kota Kinabalu: Kuamut Assemblyman Datuk Masiung Banah (pic) said Sabah should have its own Sabah Palm Oil Board to manage the State’s palm oil revenues instead of letting the Federal Government control the funds.
“Under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), Sabah should manage her own resources rather than have the Federal Malaysian Palm Oil Board do so,” he said when debating the Head of State Policy Speech, Monday.
He said palm oil estates across the State, most of which are not owned by Sabahans, generated an estimated RM17.7 billion in sales last year based on 2025 records showing production of about 4.27 metric tonnes of crude palm oil.
“The State currently imposes a 7.5 per cent sales tax on palm oil, earning about RM1.327 billion,” he said.
He proposed raising this to eight per cent, which he said would generate an additional RM85 million.
“This extra revenue should be channelled specifically to repair roads damaged by plantation companies, which routinely transport palm oil bunches exceeding the load limits approved by the Road Transport Department,” he said.
“If Sabah managed the RM17 billion itself, the State could retain 40 per cent and remit 60 per cent to the Federal Government, rather than the current arrangement where the Federal Government manages the full amount and returns only eight per cent to Sabah.
“This is MA63. This is what is called 40 per cent,” he said.
He also raised matters related to the continental shelf and called on the State Government to reject any attempt by outside parties, including Putrajaya, to question the State’s sovereignty over its continental shelf territory.
“Under the North Borneo (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954, Sabah holds autonomy over its continental shelf rights and seabed natural resources, including oil and gas, within a 200 nautical mile zone, a matter officially recorded as non-negotiable,” he said.
He urged the State Government, through the MA63 Implementation Action Council, to reject the Territorial Sea Act 2012 (Act 750), which he said limits Sabah’s maritime autonomy to only three nautical miles.
“Sabah’s petroleum revenue claim over its continental shelf is not a political slogan or symbolic document, but an international agreement,” he said, calling on everyone to reject any political narrative that denies this history.
He also raised concerns related to the cost of living, urging assemblymen on both sides of the House, as well as netizens, influencers and social media users, not to spread narratives portraying Sabah as being in a major crisis.
“The Head of State had already declared Sabah’s economy stable,” he said, pointing out that photos circulating on social media suggesting people were queuing for rice at supermarkets were harmful narratives.
“Do not create narratives as though we in Sabah are in a great crisis as that will cause our people to panic,” he said.
Additionally, he acknowledged that ongoing geopolitical conflicts in West Asia have driven up oil prices and pushed logistics costs higher, making price increases for imported goods unavoidable.
He listed three proposals to ease the burden on Sabahans, subject to the State having sufficient funds.
“Firstly, the State Government could perhaps contribute an additional RM100 on a one-off basis to supplement the Federal Government’s existing Sumbangan Asas Rahmah assistance, bringing the total to RM200 per month for the 497,815 targeted recipients in Sabah.
“Secondly, if the global economic crisis continues, perhaps the Federal Government can implement a loan moratorium as targeted relief for B40 and M40 individual borrowers and small and medium enterprise entrepreneurs affected by domestic economic pressure,” he said.
Thirdly, he proposed more enforcement officers under the Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 and the Control of Supplies Act 1991 to curb unreasonable price increases and manipulation by traders, particularly on subsidised goods.
Masiung said the Sabah Government must be bold in exploring new economic sectors in addition to petroleum, including underground mineral resources that have yet to be tapped.
