KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Pakatan Harapan remains hopeful and calls for patience despite the delay in the Federal Government’s promise to deliver the 40% net revenue owed to the state.
Its chief, Datuk Christina Liew Chin Jin, said this is an ongoing process, and Sabah Pakatan would not stop fighting for the state’s rights.
“Sabah Pakatan continues to engage with the Federal Government on this matter; we are very firm on this,” she said during an event here on Saturday (July 27).
She said they have been engaging with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the matter since last year.
“We have also discussed this matter with the state, and the process is ongoing. So just be patient,” Liew said.
In November 2023, Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan told the state assembly that the formula for Sabah's revenue entitlement would be known by July 18 2024.
The timeframe was agreed upon in previous technical committee meetings.
Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick, who is also the United Progressive Kinabalu Organization (Upko) president, said in September last year that the formula was expected to be finalised in July.
While waiting for the outcome of the negotiations for the 40% return of revenue, the state government agreed on an interim basis without prejudice to its constitutional rights and obtained substantial increases in the special grant.
The Federal Government agreed to pay the interim sum of RM125.6mil in 2022 and RM300mil in 2023.
With the July 18 deadline passed, there has been no word on this formula to date, resulting in mounting political pressure for progress on the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government led by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
