PM to brief Parliament on Sabah special grant

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will brief the Dewan Rakyat on the federal government’s special grant for Sabah later this morning.

According to a media notice sent out by the Prime Minister’s Office, the special briefing session is scheduled to begin at 11.30am.

“Members of the press, the prime minister will hold a 'Ministerial Briefing Session' at the Dewan Rakyat at 11.30am today regarding the special grant for Sabah. For your attention and action,” said the notice.

It is believed that the session was called following the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s ruling on Friday, where it found the federal government had acted unlawfully and beyond its powers under the Federal Constitution by failing to honour Sabah’s 40 percent share of federal revenue for nearly five decades.

In delivering the decision, judge Celestina Stuel Galid declared that the special-grant review orders jointly issued by the federal and state governments were “unlawful, ultra vires, and irrational”, breaching the Constitution.

The court also issued a mandamus order directing Putrajaya to conduct a new revenue review with the Sabah government under Article 112D of the Constitution and to agree on the state’s 40 percent entitlement for each financial year from 1974 to 2021, with the review to commence within 90 days and conclude within 180 days. - Mkini