KENINGAU: Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has claimed that the "unfinished business" over Sabah's 40% revenue demand he started was the push factor to continue vying for the Keningau parliamentary seat.
The Sabah STAR president said that the demand could have been lost if he did not fight for it at Federal level.
"I was told that the RM125.6mil was just an interim payment until we get the 40%. But when the Federal Gazette was released, they said it was to replace the 40%.
"Then in a meeting, I noticed that it was put on the list as a settled matter. So, I demanded that they put it back on the list as a matter that was still unsettled even though they had paid Sabah RM125.6mil," he said during a dinner with the Chinese community leaders here on Tuesday (Nov 15).
Kitingan sits in the Special Committee on the MA63 by virtue of him being the Sabah Deputy Chief Minister and chairs matters relating to Sabah's rights at state level.
He also said though the Federal Government has returned some powers to the state, he was still pursuing what matters the most, which is Sabah's financial rights.
"Without money, we can't develop the state. We will always have to beg from the Federal Government and always be poor," he said.
He added that the net revenue amount obtained by the Federal Government from Sabah amounted to RM60bil a year.
"I want to go back to Parliament and continue going after this revenue for Sabah," he said.
Kitingan is set to face Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) candidate Datuk Jake Nointin, Warisan's Rasinin Koutis and Grelydia Gillod of Pakatan Harapan for the Keningau seat.
