Ronald Kiandee
KOTA KINABALU (Aug 7): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement does not address the key issue that needs to be answered, which is the mandatory 40 per cent allocation under Article 112C of the Constitution.
According to Perikatan Nasional Sabah chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee, every state in the Federation should receive mandatory financial allocations under Article 109, while Sabah and Sarawak have additional mandatory provisions under Article 112C of the Federal Constitution.
Article 109 of the Constitution states that mandatory grants to states include:
(a) Capitation Grant under Article 109(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution and the Capitation Grant Act 2002;
(b) State Road Maintenance Grant (MARRIS) under Article 109(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution; and
(c) Grants based on the level of economic development, infrastructure, and living conditions under Article 109(6) of the Federal Constitution.
“Furthermore, the financial allocations under Article 109 of the Federal Constitution must comply with the requirements under Parts I, II, and III of the Tenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“For Sabah, in addition to the mandatory allocations under Article 109 of the Federal Constitution, a mandatory 40% allocation must be given as stated in Article 112C in Parts IV and V of the Tenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which must be reviewed every five years under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution but has not been implemented by the Federation so far,” Ronald, who is also Beluran member of parliament, said.
“Therefore, the Prime Minister’s statement overlooks that the development expenditure allocation for Sabah cannot be equated with the regular mandatory grants to other states (except Sarawak). The RM16 billion allocation should be given to Sabah, but the mandatory 40% allocation under Article 112C still remains and must be provided to Sabah in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Constitution.
“Thus, the Federal Government and Sabah must always uphold and comply with the Federal Constitution to ensure a fair and mutually beneficial Federation while safeguarding the interests of Malaysia,” he said.
He added that Anwar recently stated that the Federal Government had allocated RM16 billion to Sabah, which is the total allocation for Sabah and not just for development expenditure.
In the same speech, the Prime Minister mentioned that the RM16 billion allocation includes provisions for schools, education for children and border security, which are indeed federal responsibilities under the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.
