Kota Kinabalu: Parti Warisan has rejected claims that its administration agreed to accept a lower Special Grant as the final settlement of Sabah's constitutional entitlement, saying the RM53.4 million proposal in 2019 was intended only as an interim payment.
Its deputy president Datuk Darell Leiking (
pic) said the interim arrangement was accepted without prejudice to Sabah's constitutional rights while negotiations on the constitutional formula under Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution continued.
He said the arrangement was aimed at allowing Sabah to receive additional financial assistance after the Special Grant had remained largely unchanged for more than four decades, while discussions under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Special Cabinet Committee proceeded.
According to Darell, the 2019 negotiations were conducted with the knowledge and participation of the Federal Government of the day, and no Constitutional Order or Federal Gazette was issued because the negotiations had yet to be concluded.
He said Warisan objected to the Federal Constitution (Review of Special Grant under Article 112D) (State of Sabah) Order 2022, arguing that it departed from the 2019 interim understanding by omitting any reference to the payment being interim or without prejudice.
Darell also called on the Federal Government to declassify the MA63 Special Cabinet Committee report, Cabinet Committee minutes, Cabinet papers and technical negotiation documents from 2018 to 2020, saying the records would show that the RM53.4 million proposal was never intended as a final settlement.
He said the issue concerned Sabah's constitutional rights and the proper implementation of the Federal Constitution, adding that the State's constitutional entitlements must be honoured.
