Return 40% of revenue collected in Sabah, Jeffrey tells Putrajaya

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) has demanded that the federal government give back to Sabah 40% of the net revenue it has collected in the state, saying this must be provided for in the budget to be tabled on Oct 27.

Speaking to FMT, Star president Jeffrey Kitingan noted that the 40% return was mandated by the Malaysia Agreement.

He said Putrajaya could not cite the current tight financial situation as an excuse not to pay. “It has already collected the money. It is just a matter of setting aside the money and reimbursing Sabah. It is a constitutional obligation and part of the Malaysia Agreement.”

He also said the 40% represented “only the tip of the iceberg” because the state government had yet to demand everything that the federal government owed Sabah.

Citing the Federal Constitution, he said the 40% entitlement was mentioned under the rubric of “Special Grants to the State of Sabah and Sarawak”.

He said the constitution also entitled the state to 10% of the import and excise duties collected for petroleum products and an additional 10% of export duties on its petroleum.

He said the federal government, instead of giving the full 40% to Sabah, had been giving only RM26.7 million a year, an amount agreed upon in 1963 although the constitution requires a review every five years.

“We are not talking about arrears here which, by the way, Najib’s government should consider paying as it has been a long time coming.”

Once the Sabah government was given all its dues, he said, it would be able to develop its economic, industrial and physical infrastructure and beef up its security to complement the federal role.

Additionally, Sabah would also be able to improve its human resources and the education of its citizens, he added.

Jeffrey complained that under last year’s federal budget, Sabah and Sarawak were given only one major infrastructure project, the Pan Borneo Highway.

But he said he was more concerned about security issues in the state.

“Kidnapping, foreign intrusion, over-dependence on the federal government for security, immigration and Sabah citizenship issues – all these are the reasons why Sabah has to play a bigger role in homeland security,” he added.

Last year, under the defence ministry allocation, the federal government provided RM10 million for the establishment of a forward base for the Eastern Sabah Security Command as well as air bases in Labuan and Lahad Datu.

At the same time, the federal budget allocated RM17 million for Lima ‘17, the maritime and aerospace industries show held in Langkawi last March. -FMT