Will Sabah get 40% tax funds or not, asks Warisan MP

 

Sabah MP Azis Jamman (left) said parliamentary replies by Tengku Zafrul Aziz seemed to show there was a new agreement on the tax formula.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sepanggar MP Azis Jamman has questioned an apparent discrepancy between statements from two federal ministers about whether Sabah will receive 40% of taxes collected by the federal government from the state.

Azis, who is Warisan Youth leader, called for clarification regarding the supposed changes to the formula.

Speaking to reporters outside the Dewan Rakyat today, Azis said the federal government is constitutionally bound to return 40% of Sabah-derived revenue to the state.

Azis said Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Maximus Ongkili had stated on Friday that a consensus was reached whereby Sabah would receive a five-fold increase in annual grants from the federal government.

But a parliamentary reply by finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz appeared to be contradictory, Azis said.

“It is as if there has been a contradiction where he (Tengku Zafrul) confirmed that the matter still has not been decided,” said Azis.

Azis said he was basing his comments on several of Tengku Zafrul’s written replies where he had said the 40% tax formula in Sabah is no longer in use, following a new agreement between Sabah and the federal government.

“Is it true that the 40% is no longer in use? And if so, what was the process behind this decision?” he said.

Azis contended that a change in the formula would involve a constitutional amendment closely related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“As far as we know, there has been no constitutional amendment in relation to this issue. So we ask for an explanation from the chief ministers and leaders in Sabah on whether they approved this change.” - FMT