Govt decides not to appeal Sabah revenue ruling

The High Court had ruled that Putrajaya acted unlawfully by failing to honour Sabah’s 40% share of federal revenue collected from the state for nearly 50 years.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers said the decision followed a special Cabinet meeting held today to discuss the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s Oct 17 ruling.

PETALING JAYA:

 The federal government has decided not to appeal the High Court’s ruling affirming Sabah’s entitlement to 40% of federal revenue collected from the Bornean state.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers said the decision followed a special Cabinet meeting held today to discuss the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s Oct 17 ruling, which came after a judicial review filed by the Sabah Law Society against the federal government.

Last month, the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruled that Putrajaya had acted unlawfully by failing to honour Sabah’s 40% share of federal revenue for nearly five decades.

In a statement, the AGC said it had informed the Cabinet that the federal government respects the principle of the special grant as outlined in the Federal Constitution.

“The federal government will therefore not appeal the special grant based on the 40% revenue and will begin negotiations with the Sabah state government immediately,” said the statement.

“The AGC also provided advice and recommendations to the Cabinet on defects in the court’s judgment.

“These included allegations that both the federal and state governments had abused power and violated constitutional obligations – a matter potentially dating back to 1974.

The AGC noted that the judgment also criticised the post-2021 review as unlawful, irrational, procedurally flawed, and disproportionate.

“The federal government intends to appeal these defects in the court’s judgment.”

The Kota Kinabalu High Court, in its Oct 17 ruling, directed the federal government to conduct a review with Sabah to determine the state’s 40% entitlement for each financial year from 1974 to 2021.

Justice Celestina Stuel Galid also declared the special grant arrangements made by both the federal and state governments as unlawful and unconstitutional.

The court had also ordered that the review must commence within 90 days and be completed within 180 days.

The AGC previously said it would study the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s written judgment before taking any further action.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim yesterday said that while he would be fine with not filing an appeal against the ruling, the final decision would be made after consulting the Cabinet at the special meeting.

The issue has led to Upko president Ewon Benedick resigning as entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister because of the stance taken by the AGC on the 40% federal revenue share.

Anwar yesterday described Ewon’s departure from the federal Cabinet as “premature”, noting that Ewon was well aware that a decision had not yet been finalised. - FMT