KOTA KINABALU: The federal government is strongly urged to reevaluate its decision to allocate only RM 300 million to Sabah out of its entitled RM 16.4 billion.
In making the call, former Petagas assemblyman Datuk Janes Ligunjang said the federal government also needs to provide a reasonable explanation for the inadequate payment and take immediate steps to revise it to better reflect Sabah’s rightful entitlement.
Describing it as completely unjustifiable and woefully inadequate, he said the paltry amount is not only an insult, but it also diminishes the significant contributions made by the people of Sabah in generating the Federal Government’s revenue of RM 41 billion in 2022.
“The government must provide a valid explanation for this decision and seriously consider revising the payment to more accurately reflect Sabah’s entitlement,” he said in a statement today.
Quoting Keningau MP Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan,”who shared this information in Parliament on October 23rd, 2023, he said it has been reported that the Federal Government earned a whopping RM 41 billion from Sabah in 2022.
Therefore, based on the 40% entitlement that Sabah should receive from federal revenue, it should amount to RM 16.4 billion, Ligunjang said.
However, he said the current interim payment allocated to Sabah for its entitlement, as stated through gazette order P.U. (A) 364/2023, is a mere RM 300 million.
“This amount is incomprehensibly low and only represents a minuscule 1.83% of Sabah’s actual entitlement of 40%,” he said.
Lingunjang said the allocation is an insult to the people of Sabah and undermines the immense contributions they have made to the Federal Government’s revenue. It feels like a mere pittance and only serves to humiliate the people of Sabah.
