Kota Kinabalu: The Federal Government has been urged to explain the basis used in determining the RM1.5 billion interim allocation announced for Sabah while negotiations on the State’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement continue.
In a statement, Likas assemblyman Tham Yun Fook
(pic) welcomed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement on increasing the special allocation to Sabah but questioned the formula used in arriving at the figure.
He noted that the Prime Minister had said RM17 billion in development allocations was channelled to Sabah last year and argued that Sabahans deserved a clear breakdown of how much was spent on Federal Government responsibilities under the Federal List and how much constituted additional allocations for the State.
He said federal expenditure undertaken to fulfil constitutional responsibilities should not be conflated with Sabah’s claim to 40 per cent of its net revenue entitlement.
According to him, federal development allocations are part of the Federal Government’s obligations to all states, whereas Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue claim is a constitutional entitlement that must be assessed separately.
He further claimed that federal revenue collected in Sabah through the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) and Royal Malaysian Customs Department alone amounted to about RM10 billion annually, excluding revenue from the oil and gas sector and other sources remitted directly to the Federal Government.
He argued that, based on the 40 per cent principle provided for under the Federal Constitution and the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963, an interim allocation of around RM4 billion would be more consistent with the revenue collected through LHDN and Customs.
Tham said Sabahans were seeking the fulfilment of a long-promised constitutional right rather than special treatment, and called on the Federal Government to provide a detailed explanation of the RM1.5 billion figure, including why officially reported revenue collected through LHDN and Customs was not used as a primary reference in determining the interim allocation.
