By WU VUIDE
KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to implement Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the Federal Constitution.
The Sabah STAR president and Tambunan Assemblyman warned that failure to do so could trigger a “referendum-like reaction” at the coming general election.
He said the 40 per cent entitlement was not a matter of federal discretion but a constitutional right under Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution.
The right was also affirmed by the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruling on Oct 17, 2025.
“The Prime Minister must act in accordance with his words and take this golden opportunity to implement Sabah’s rights in full,” Jeffrey said.
He was referring to Anwar’s earlier declaration that “the 40 per cent is settled. Case closed”.
Jeffrey rejected the argument that the Federal Government’s financial position should delay payment.
“This is not about the Federal Government’s financial position. The money is not ‘federal money’ — it is our portion,” he said.
He said Sabah urgently needed the revenue to address water shortages, electricity failures, poverty and underdevelopment.
Jeffrey said the RM1.5 billion interim special grant announced by Anwar during the Kaamatan celebration fell short of Sabah’s entitlement.
He said Sabah’s 2026 entitlement alone should amount to at least RM5 billion.
“I urge the Federal Government to stop paying the interim and start paying the full 40 per cent immediately from 2024 onward,” he said.
Jeffrey also called for a MA63 Revenue Tracking System (MARTS) to be established in Sabah.
He said the system would allow federal revenue collected from Sabah to be tracked and classified in real time.
“We need a system to track and classify revenue collected from Sabah in real time so that distribution can be done annually,” he said.
Jeffrey said fulfilling Sabah’s constitutional rights would benefit the Madani Government and could strengthen political support from the Borneo bloc.
However, he warned that failure to act could have political consequences.
“PMX’s failure to act may trigger a referendum-like reaction during the soon-to-be-held general election,” he said.
Jeffrey said Sabah contributed up to RM50 billion annually to the Federal Government, with the 40 per cent share potentially reaching RM20 billion.
He said federal allocations remained small compared with Sabah’s entitlement.
Jeffrey also cautioned against confusing subsidies with constitutional rights.
“Subsidies are assistance while rights are rights,” he said.
He questioned the Federal Government’s appeal against the High Court ruling and called for clarification on whether Anwar had authorised it.
If not, Jeffrey said, the Prime Minister should instruct the Attorney General to withdraw the appeal.
“The 40 per cent revenue is Sabah’s permanent right as long as Malaysia exists,” he said.
‘The Prime Minister must act in accordance with his words and take this golden opportunity to implement Sabah’s rights in full’ – Jeffrey
