2 weeks left to finalise Sabah’s 40% revenue formula, deputy CM tells Putrajaya

Jeffrey Kitingan questions the commitment of the federal government to giving Sabah its rightful share.

(FMT) – Sabah deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan today accused the federal government of lacking the commitment to work out any implementation of Sabah’s 40% revenue formula.

In a statement on Facebook, Kitingan said only two weeks were left to finalise the formula, according to the deadline set almost a year ago at a special technical committee meeting.

“This clearly shows the federal government’s lack of commitment.

“This continued failure to respect Sabah’s right to the 40% perpetuates the economic divide and contributes to poverty and backwardness in the state,” he said.

Adding that the people of Sabah deserved better, he said it was time the federal government demonstrated its commitment to resolving the issue.

“Ensuring that Sabah gets its rightful share of the revenue is not merely a matter of finances, but of justice and equity,” he said.

In May, Kitingan said Sabah would conduct its own computations to claim its constitutional right to the 40% share, having already asked Putrajaya eight times to provide the necessary data.

He was reported as saying that the state and federal governments had yet to reach a resolution despite the approach of the one-year deadline to resolve outstanding issues under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“We will get (the data) ourselves and ask the federal government to approve it,” he said.

Kitingan said Sabah’s calculations would have to be endorsed by the state Cabinet before they are presented to the federal government, and that the Federal Constitution allows the state to appoint an independent assessor for the purpose.