KOUPIO chairman Datin Esther Sikayun presenting Ewon with a token of appreciation for officiating the event.
KOTA KINABALU (Dec 8): United Progressive Kinabalu Organization’s (UPKO) roundtable discussion on the mechanism for the Federal Government to pay back the 40 per cent revenue received from Sabah will involve experts in auditing, tax, law practitioners and other professionals.
Its president, Datuk Ewon Benedick, said the meeting will be held on Dec 19 and input collected will be presented at the meeting of the Technical Committee on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) scheduled for early next year.
Ewon pointed out that the formula is already there, based on 40 per cent of federal revenue collected in Sabah, and what is urgently needed now is the implementation mechanism.
This, he said, must be resolved by the leaders of Sabah, and there must be a starting point to come up with the mechanism.
“If we discuss direct revenue collected by revenue offices in Sabah along with indirect revenue, it will certainly involve a lengthy process because it requires interpretation of various laws.
“This will extend the timeframe set by the government, which is one year from July of this year to finalize the mechanism. In my opinion, we should use this time to propose mechanisms for repaying 40 per cent to Sabah,” he said.
For example, are the people of Sabah willing to accept a lower allocation than what is currently given to ensure the repayment of that 40% can be made?” he said after launching the Coffee Cactus Cooperative Product produced by the Koperasi Peniaga Usahawan Inanam Berhad (KOUPIO) here on Friday.
The Penampang Member of Parliament and Kadamaian assemblyman stressed that Sabah’s leaders need to reduce political polemics and instead come together to propose how to implement the mechanism to get the 40 per cent revenue owed to the state.
“If we want to talk about the 40 percent, what are the proposals and how can the mechanism be implemented? I think there is a gap in our discussions on this matter because we only want to demand the 40 per cent without concrete proposals on its mechanisms.
“Sometimes the federal government, for example, the Ministry of Finance, puts forward proposals, but we disagree, and at the same time, we do not present counter-proposals to implement the 40 per cent claim,” he said.
Ewon said that the current federal government had decided on a one-year period to finalize the mechanism for repaying federal revenue to Sabah, and UPKO wants to contribute positively to this process.
“Unlike previous administrations, the government led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has set a timeframe for both the federal government and the state government to finalize this matter. As a member of the MA63 Implementation Action Council, the MA63 Technical Committee and the Cabinet, I will use all available platforms to record proposals for the implementation mechanism for the collection of the 40 per cent revenue owed,” he added.
