Nothing secret about new Sabah revenue formula, says Kitingan

 

STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan says Azis Jamman of Warisan was just ‘putting on a show’.

KOTA KINABALU: A Sabah leader has rejected a claim by Warisan MPs that the federal government had secretly amended a constitutional arrangement over a tax-sharing formula on federal revenue collected from Sabah

STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan, who is a deputy chief minister, said a review of the original formula was made in 1970 under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution.

“There was nothing secret about the amendment order. It was published in the official government gazette. It is not a covert attempt by the federal government to amend the Federal Constitution,” he said.

He said two MPs from Warisan, Azis Jamman (Sepanggar) and Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Kota Belud), had “put on a show” by accusing the federal government yesterday of unconstitutionally changing the revenue-sharing formula and keeping it a secret since 1970.

Azis said he had found that the federal and Sabah governments had agreed on a review of the grant under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution, rendering the original formula under Article 112C void.

‘RM20 million agreed upon in 1969’

Kitingan said that in 1969, Sabah’s net revenue, based on the 40% formula, was about RM22 million when the review was made, and a sum of RM20 million was agreed upon as the annual federal grant to the state, with a 7.5% annual increase.

However, after 48 years, that sum should have been far larger than the RM26.7 million that Sabah now receives annually.

“That is why the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah government rejects the figure of RM52 million agreed on for the special federal grant by the previous Pakatan Harapan-Warisan administration,” he said.

“If we agreed, that means we accept that the federal government can pay us a pittance, while claiming to have fulfilled their obligation,” Kitingan said.

Formal review of revenue-sharing sought

He said the present Sabah government is now demanding a proper formal review rather than an ad hoc review or relying on executive orders from the sitting prime minister.

“This review is mandatory according to the Constitution. It must be held between governments rather than through the joint consultative committee. It must be between heads of government, not members of some committees. The prime minister and the Sabah chief minister must be present at the table.

“We demand not only a financial review for the full payment of the 40% formula for revenue derived from Sabah, and arrears based on the 7.5% annual increase since 1974.”

Kitingan said the amount, with compound interest, would come to about RM1 billion, while “the full payment of the 40% revenue share might run into billions”.

He said his party would not hesitate to back Warisan if it is shown that the federal government is attempting to encroach on Sabah’s rights. - FMT