GOVT NOT APPEALING ON SABAH'S 40 PCT REVENUE ENTITLEMENT, ONLY AGAINST PART OF JUDGMENT GROUNDS

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) today stressed that the Federal Government is not appealing on the issue of Sabah’s Special Grant entitlement based on the 40 per cent revenue rate and will proceed to commence negotiations with the Sabah Government as soon as possible.

The AGC, in a statement today, announced that it had filed a Notice of Appeal at the Kota Kinabalu High Court on Nov 13, but only against parts of the court’s decision related to several errors in the judge’s grounds of judgment.

“The judgment alleged, among other things, that the Federal and Sabah governments had abused their powers and breached constitutional obligations.

“The AGC reiterates that the Federal Government is not appealing on the issue of Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement and will move forward with negotiations with the Sabah Government without delay,” the statement read.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told Parliament yesterday that the Federal Government’s appeal is limited to specific aspects of the court’s judgment on the issue, after identifying certain flaws in the decision.

He said the Federal Government, on the AGC’s advice, believes parts of the written judgment went beyond the court’s legal scope.

On Oct 17, the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruled that the Federal Government had acted unlawfully and beyond its constitutional authority by failing to fulfil Sabah’s right to 40 per cent of federal revenue from 1974 to 2021.

The court also ordered the Federal and Sabah governments to review Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement for 1974-2021, giving them 90 days to complete the review and 180 days to reach a final agreement.

The judge made the ruling after allowing the Sabah Law Society’s (SLS) application for a judicial review, which contended that both the Federal and Sabah governments had breached their constitutional duties by failing to legally review the payments.

The case centred on the interpretation of Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution. Article 112C deals with special grants and the assignment of revenue to Sabah and Sarawak, while Article 112D provides for periodic reviews of these grants.

-- BERNAMA