Kitingan adamant Sabah revenue spent on other states

Bingkor Assemblyman Jeffrey Kitingan urges Assistant Finance Minister Ramlee Marhaban not to make statements that have no basis.

KOTA KINABALU: Bingkor Assemblyman Jeffrey Kitingan, a long time Borneo rights advocate, today stood by earlier claims that revenue from Sabah was going to other states.

He took aim at Sabah Assistant Finance Minister Ramlee Marhaban who earlier said Parti Warisan Sabah president Shafie Apdal was wrong in claiming that revenue from Sabah was flowing into other states.

Kitingan today said it was obvious Ramlee was ignorant of Sabah’s 40% Net Revenue Entitlement as well as its entitlements to other revenue under the Federal Constitution.

“These revenues have not been returned to Sabah,” he said, adding that Putrajaya must have spent some of it on other states.

Kitingan has raised the 40% Net Revenue Entitlement under Article 112C and the 10th Schedule of the Federal Constitution, repeatedly since 2011 in the Sabah assembly.

“The state cabinet committee under Special Tasks Minister Teo Chee Kang was ordered to look into the 40% entitlement.

“So, there’s no excuse for the assistant minister to claim ignorance,” said Kitingan who heads Parti Solidariti Tanah Air (Star) and who is also founder of the United Sabah Alliance (USA).

Since 1974, said Kitingan, the federal government has only returned RM26.7 million annually to Sabah when the current estimate was more than RM11-RM20 billion annually.

“This amount will balloon further when the new Malikai oil field starts production at the end of the month. It has a production capacity of 193,000 barrels per day.”

“That translates into RM16.66 billion annually for Petronas and the federal government.”

The lawmaker reiterated it was no longer in dispute that Putrajaya had spent monies that was legitimately Sabah’s on other states including in the form of loans.

He urged Ramlee not to make statements that had no basis and/or politicise the matter but secure what was due to Sabah.

“These monies should be used to develop Sabah, spent on Sabahans,” said Kitingan. -FMT