PAPAR: A new gazette on the interim allocation to Sabah will be issued to cancel last year’s, said Upko President Datuk Ewon Benedick.
Ewon, who is Penampang Member of Parliament (MP) and Kadamaian Assemblyman, said this was among decisions at a meeting of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Technical Committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
“Another was amendment to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) Act 1995, where the follow-up amendments will be tabled in the Parliamentary sitting later this year,” he said after officiating Upko’s 29th anniversary celebration at Kampung Biau Hall, Saturday.
“The amendment will allow the official appointments of Sabah and Sarawak representatives in the IRB board of directors so that they have access to the types of Federal revenue and total revenue collection from both states.”
Ewon, also part of the MA63 Technical Committee, said it also agreed to set one year to finalise the formula for the Federal special grant to the State Government as stipulated in the Federal Constitution.
On June 3, last year, 12 Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs and assemblymen filed a suit at the Kota Kinabalu High Court against the Federal Government to regain Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue rights under the Federal Constitution.
In the suit, they seek, among others, a declaration that Sabah is entitled to 40 per cent of the revenue derived by the Federal Government from the State annually to be “respected and delivered” as stated in the Federal Constitution.
They were seeking a declaration of the State’s 40 per cent revenue rights under Article 112C and Section 2(1) of Part IV of the Tenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution that “still applied and (is) enforceable”.
Apart from Ewon, others who filed the suit include Sabah PH chairperson Datuk Christina Liew, former Upko president Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau (Tuaran MP), and Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Frankie Poon (Tanjung Papat Assemblyman).
The plaintiffs’ counsel Nelson Angang was reported as saying that the High Court had set Aug 30 for re-mention of the suit.
The Court was scheduled, on July 31, to hear the decision of whether the plaintiffs want to proceed.
Nelson also said the new date (Aug 30) would allow parties to negotiate further.
Meanwhile, Ewon said, Upko will consistently fight to implement the MA63 and Sabah rights under the Federal Constitution.
“This was one of the objectives of the party’s establishment,” he said.
