GOVT'S APPEAL ONLY AGAINST GROUNDS OF JUDGMENT, NOT SABAH’S 40 PCT ENTITLEMENT - ANWAR

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has once again stressed that the Federal Government only filed an appeal against the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s grounds of judgment regarding the 40 per cent special grant for Sabah, and not against the decision on the state’s entitlement.

Anwar said this was due to inaccuracies in the grounds of judgment, which he said appeared to blame the previous leadership of both the Federal Government and the Sabah government in making decisions related to the matter.

“The judge reprimanded everyone...(that) all were wrong. (Former Prime Minister) Tun Razak was wrong, Tun Hussein Onn was wrong... The Federal Government, all Prime Ministers were wrong. Here (in Sabah) the state government – Tun Mustapha was wrong, Donald Stephens was wrong... Everyone was wrong. So I said, that’s not right.

“I am ‘anak’ Malaysia. I do not want to blame the forefathers who have contributed. Sabah gained independence with Malaysia thanks to Donald Stephens, Tun Mustapha. It was their contribution, we must respect them. Don’t say they were wrong. So we want to appeal for the High Court to expunge those accusations.

“Our generation remembers contributions. These are our great leaders. Donald Stephens was a great Sabahan leader who contributed to this country. Tun Mustapha contributed. Whether we agree or disagree is another matter,” he said in his speech at the PM Sayang Sabah Premier Ceramah for the Inanam state constituency in Inanam town near here, tonight.

At the parliamentary sitting on Thursday, Anwar said that based on the Federal Government’s understanding and on the advice of the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the grounds of judgment were issued beyond legal parameters.

The grounds of judgment, which stated that the review of the special grant after 2021 was unlawful and irrational, also linked major errors to the Federal Government since 1974.

This resulted in the Federal Government, the state government and Members of Parliament involved in the administration since 1974 being deemed to have erred, acted unlawfully, irrationally, with procedural irregularities and neglect of responsibility to the state of Sabah.

Meanwhile, Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said negotiations on the issue of Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement would be held this Monday.

He also reaffirmed the commitment to ensure Sabah becomes a developed and progressive state, as such progress would elevate Malaysia as a great nation.

As such, he said the Federal Government continued to focus on resolving all infrastructure issues affecting Sabah such as water, electricity and roads, in addition to matters concerning state rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

He said the determination of the MADANI Government in tackling problems inherited over the past three years could be seen through the restoration of regulatory authority over electricity to Sabah, the RM1.2 billion allocation to ensure electricity supply sustainability in Sabah, and RM1 billion to resolve water issues.

“Malaysia is already developed, but there are villages with no electricity, or electricity that comes and goes. As Finance Minister, I approved RM1.2 billion. We also gave RM1 billion to resolve Sabah’s water problems, and based on projections, this will be resolved by 2026.

“This is not about elections, we have already given it,” he said.

Anwar also stressed that the Sabah government must maintain good cooperation with the Federal Government to ensure that the implementation of development projects can be expedited.

-- BERNAMA