Special grant: Sarawak submits formula
Published on: Wednesday, June 01, 2022
KUCHING: Sarawak has submitted a formula to the Federal Government for reviewing its special grant under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution.State Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said the formula aimed to ensure that the special grants to Sarawak would be distributed fairly and equitably.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The Premier has emphasised that the special grant to Sarawak ought to be based on a reasonable and pragmatic formula, taking into account the financial position of the Federal Government as stipulated in Article 112D.
“We don’t want the Federal Government to simply give out any figure,” she told Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap during question time in the state legislative assembly Monday.
Yap had asked why Sarawak had not reached a consensus with the Federal Government on reviewing the special grant, unlike Sabah which agreed last month to accept an increase in its grant from RM26.7mil to RM125.6mil for 2022.
Sharifah Hasidah also said Sarawak was pursuing negotiations to review the special grant through a joint consultative committee under the Special Council on the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
ADVERTISEMENT
She said the state government had requested a meeting of the committee in the near future to discuss and agree on the formula for the review.
If an agreement on the review could not be reached, she added, it would be referred to an independent assessor as provided for under Article 112D (6) of the Federal Constitution.
ADVERTISEMENT
“(The assessor’s) recommendation shall be binding on the federal and Sarawak governments and shall be given effect as if they were the agreement of those governments,” she said.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
