Ewon (seated middle) with Sabah leaders who attended the roundtable discussion.
KOTA KINABALU (Dec 19): The proposed framework for the repayment mechanism of 40 per cent of revenue due to Sabah will be brought to the attention of the State and Federal Governments, said United Progressive Kinabalu Organization (UPKO) president Datuk Ewon Benedick.
According to Ewon, the proposed framework takes into account technical issues related to the availability of data concerning federal revenue collection in Sabah since 1974 and practical steps forward.
“As a member of the Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63) Action Council and the MA63 Technical Committee, I have taken the initiative to hold roundtable discussions with Sabah leaders who have expertise in their respective fields to discuss a framework that can be presented to the government for the implementation of the 40 per cent repayment of federal revenues in Sabah.
“I will present this proposed framework to the government through discussions with the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister II and the Chief Minister of Sabah before the MA63 and MA63 Technical Committee meetings are held early next year,” he said.
Ewon also called for a pre-council involving members of the meeting from Sabah be held earlier so that they can present a unified narrative.
“In essence, we want any special payments to Sabah to be based on the 40 per cent formula as outlined in Article 112C of the Federal Constitution,” he said after chairing the roundtable discussion held here on Tuesday.
Ewon, who is also Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister, stressed that the proposed framework mechanism needs to be presented and discussed between the Federal and State governments in line with the government’s decision to set a one-year period starting from July 2023 to finalize the payment mechanism.
Also present in the discussion were former Chief Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Sabah representative in the Inland Revenue Board, Datuk Petrus Gimbad, former president of the Sabah Law Society, Datuk Roger Chin, Datuk John Sikayun, Chief Executive Officer of Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Professor Datuk Dr Ramzah Dambul, and former Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Bumburing.