SABAH Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan has accused the federal government of failing to demonstrate commitment to implementing the 40% revenue-sharing formula for Sabah.
In a Facebook post, Kitingan highlighted that only two weeks remain to finalise the formula, as per the deadline set nearly a year ago during a special technical committee meeting.
“This clearly shows the federal government’s lack of commitment,” Kitingan stated.
He pointed out that the ongoing failure to honour Sabah’s right to the 40% revenue share exacerbates economic disparities and contributes to poverty and underdevelopment in the state.
Moreover, Kitingan stressed that the people of Sabah deserve better and called on the federal government to demonstrate 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 announced that Sabah would conduct its own computations to claim its constitutional right to the 40% share, after having requested the necessary data from Putrajaya eight times without success.
He also noted that despite the imminent one-year deadline to resolve outstanding issues under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, the state and federal governments have yet to reach a resolution.
“We will get the data ourselves and ask the federal government to approve it.”
He further added that Sabah’s calculations would need to be endorsed by the state Cabinet before being presented to the federal government, and that the Federal Constitution allows the state to appoint an independent assessor for this purpose. – July 19, 2024
