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Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Umno Treasurer Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak (pic) said discussions on the relationship between the Federal Government and state governments should be viewed as efforts to strengthen Malaysia’s federal system rather than as a challenge to national unity.

He said recent remarks by the Johor Crown Prince, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, on the distribution of national revenue between the Federal Government and the states had renewed debate on the need for a more balanced and equitable system for all states.

Salleh said Sabah has long raised concerns over revenue sharing and the implementation of the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which provides for greater autonomy for the states that formed Malaysia.

Although Johor and Sabah have different historical backgrounds, he said both are essentially raising the same fundamental question of how the federal system can balance national interests with the aspirations and development needs of individual states.

In a Facebook post, Salleh said discussions on fiscal powers, revenue sharing and state autonomy provide an opportunity to reassess the effectiveness of the existing federal framework, adding that stronger and better-resourced states would contribute to a stronger, fairer and more effective Malaysia.