The special federal grant for Sabah has reached a record RM600mil, nearly 20 times higher under the current government than during the Opposition’s administration, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister revealed that the special grant for Sabah had remained unchanged at RM26.7mil up to 2021.
Under this government, a review in 2023 resulted in a joint agreement to increase the grant to RM300mil.
“The Federal Government made another review this year and agreed with the Sabah government to double the special grant to RM600mil,” he said during a ministerial briefing on the grant.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said full payment of the RM600mil grant was completed on Sept 10 and handed to the Sabah government.
He added that the RM600mil rate is an interim measure while both governments formulate a new mechanism to calculate future federal special grants.
The government had also increased Sabah’s allocation to RM17bil for 2025 and 2026.
“The amount exceeds Sabah’s total revenue in 2022, 2023 and 2024, which averaged around RM10bil a year,” he added.
On the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s ruling on the review of Sabah’s special grant, Anwar said the Federal Government respected the decision, adding that further action will follow the Attorney General’s advice in the interest of Sabah and the country.
“I would like to emphasise that the government remains committed to fulfilling all obligations to Sabah as enshrined under the Federal Constitution,” he said.
The ministerial briefing yesterday followed an Oct 17 ruling that Putrajaya had failled to honour Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement for decades.
The court stated that the failure of the Federal Government to hold a second review in 1974 with the Sabah government was a breach and contravention of its constitutional duty.
This means that the 40% entitlement remains due and payable to Sabah for each consecutive financial year from 1974 to 2021.
Anwar said the High Court had directed the Federal Government to conduct a joint review with Sabah under Article 112D of the Constitution, to give effect to the 40% entitlement.
“This decision has led to misleading interpretations that the Federal Government merely extracts Sabah’s revenue without contributing to development.
“(But) out of respect for the ongoing legal process, we cannot disclose details of matters still before the court,” he said.
Anwar said the Federal Government remains committed to fulfilling all its obligations to Sabah, with significant progress made in resolving long-standing issues related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“The government has made every effort to resolve all outstanding MA63 claims, increase the special grant rate for Sabah and boost annual allocations for operating and development expenditures to enhance the well-being of the state.
“This is the aspiration of the Madani government, and like its other promises, it will be realised,” Anwar said.
