Anwar pours raw rice grains into a container in a symbolic gesture at the closing ceremony of the Kaamatan festival in Kota Kinabalu on May 31, 2024. — Malay Mail photo
KOTA KINABALU (May 31): Sabah’s RM16 billion federal allocation for this year surpasses the 40 per cent in revenue the state government is claiming from Putrajaya through the courts, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.
He also said his Madani government has done more to resolve many outstanding issues concerning the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) in the last one and a half years since he became prime minister, compared to those who had been in power for the past decade.
“When I became prime minister in 2022, we gave Sabah RM12.9 billion. In 2024, I added another RM4 billion, so it’s RM16 billion for the people of Sabah.
“So those who have been saying the federal government haven’t done anything and haven’t fulfilled the 40 per cent, I have given RM16 billion, far more than the 40 per cent being claimed,” he said in his speech at the closing ceremony of the state-level Kaamatan festival at the Kadazandusun Cultural Association building here.
Anwar said he is always concerned about Sabah and Sarawak and is ready to give them their dues as prescribed in the MA63.
He is optimistic that all other outstanding issues will be resolved soon by his deputy Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof.
“I hope Datuk Seri Fadillah can settle all the outstanding issues with MA63. I don’t want any more delays.
“There are opposition in Semenanjung (peninsula) who say I am unfair to Kelantan and Terengganu because I favour Sabah and Sarawak,” Anwar said.
He also cautioned former leaders from making provocative statement to rile others and pit the states against each other to regain power.
Sabah has been making efforts to compel the federal government to return the 40 per cent return of revenue derived from the state as enshrined in Article 112C of the Federal Constitution.
The issue is among the biggest claims from the state in the MA63 framework due to its non-payment backdated up to 1974. — Malay Mail
