PARLIAMENT | Putrajaya was unable to respond to a member of Parliament’s question about the total revenue collected from Sabah, citing potential sub judice implications.
Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat that the question by Jeffrey Kitingan (GRS-Keningau) referred to matters by a suit filed against the federal government and Sabah government.
“Therefore, we can neither comment nor provide answers for now due to sub judice,” said Anwar.
Kitingan had asked the finance minister to state the total revenue obtained or collected by the federal government from Sabah between 1974 and 2022.
He added that the figure must include oil and gas revenue obtained by the federal government under the Petroleum Development Act 1974.
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Although short of specifics, Anwar said direct and indirect taxes are collected from Sabah, including taxes on companies, individuals, petroleum taxes, real estate gains, stamp duty, import duties, export duties, excise duties, sales tax, and services tax.
Non-tax revenues from Sabah include licences, permits, fines, penalties, and rental collected by federal government agencies.
Although Anwar did not specify the plaintiffs in the suit, he was likely referring to the suit filed by 12 Sabah Harapan lawmakers in June last year.
The 12 aim to establish that Article 112C and Section 2(1) of Part IV of the Tenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution remain applicable and enforceable.
According to Section 2(1) of Part IV of the Tenth Schedule, Sabah has the right to receive an annual grant equivalent to “two-fifths” of the net revenue generated by the Federation of Malaysia from Sabah.
Additionally, the lawmakers contest the constitutional validity of Putrajaya’s review of the grant amount under Article 112D and seek a declaration that it was unconstitutional, null, and void.
Although Harapan was now part of the federal government, the twelve have not dropped their suit.
Harapan had pledged to fulfil “two-fifths” under Section 2(1) of Part IV of the Tenth Schedule as part of its election manifesto for the 2022 parliamentary elections. - Mkini
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