By Former Petagas assemblyman Datuk James Ligunjang
KOTA KINABALU: History may be kind in judging the late Adenan Satem and the State Attorney General Chambers of Sarawak as protectors and advocates for Sarawak’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 and the Federal Constitution.
However, the same cannot be said for the state government and the State Attorney General Chambers of Sabah.
Today, in the Court of Appeal, the Sabah Government’s lawyer, Datuk Tengku Fuad Ahmad, vehemently opposed the Judicial Review Application by the Sabah Law Society regarding Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement, which the Federal Government has not honoured since 1974, supposedly in the name of Sabah and its people.
The court proceedings effectively pitted Sabahan against Sabahan, while the primary appellant, the Federal Attorney General, appeared unperturbed by the conflict.
The spectacle in court was indeed a sad one, as Sabahans found themselves in opposition to each other. For the people of Sabah, who are yearning for justice based on the conditional and foundational principles agreed upon in the Malaysia Agreement of 1963, today’s court proceeding may once again eclipse their hopes for justice.
The 40% revenue entitlement was never an aspirational condition but was a primary and conditional requirement for Sabah to join in the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.