Kota Kinabalu: PKR’s Christina Liew has denied former chief minister Shafie Apdal’s claim that she stopped him from pressuring the Pakatan Harapan federal government over Sabah’s right to 40% of the state’s revenue.
Liew, who was Shafie’s deputy in the Warisan-led state government, said the Warisan president’s allegation was baseless and mere “propaganda” for the general election.
“Responsible leaders should not fabricate stories to mislead the electorate. Warisan should not blame PH for its inability to pursue Sabah’s rights successfully,” the former Sabah PKR chief said.
On Saturday, Shafie claimed Sabah PH did not support the move to reclaim the state’s right to 40% of its revenue, adding that Liew had said it was a “party call”.
He accused Sabah PH of following their party leaders rather than the voice of Sabahans and that its suit against Putrajaya over the 40% revenue share was a mere publicity stunt.
Last June, 12 PH elected representatives in Sabah filed a legal action at the Kota Kinabalu High Court, seeking a declaration that the state’s 40% revenue share formula, as stipulated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963, was still applicable.
They also sought declarations that a review of Putrajaya’s annual grant to Sabah should have been carried out in 1974, and that the 2022 review – jointly announced by the federal and Sabah state governments in April – was unconstitutional.
In March, finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz revealed that the 40% formula was no longer applicable.
