By Remy Majangkim
KOTA KINABALU: While we were talking around the campfire, someone mentioned that on 17 October 2025, the Sabah High Court ruled in favour of the Sabah Law Society and others. The written judgement has just been published.
With the fire flickering, a cold mountain breeze, and the river nearby, we talked about what could happen when the 180 days are up, which will be on 14 April 2026.
The court gave three months for the Federal Government to come up with a solution on the lost Sabah 40% entitlement, with an additional 3-month extension for the State and Federal to reach an agreement.
The discussion must revolve around these points.
First – A strong and unified state government should demand how much tax has been collected over the years from Sabah, with simple arithmetic deduction, and add 40% entitled to Sabah. So what is the figure?
Second – If there is any dispute on the matter, a third-party independent assessor will be appointed to look into the books.
Third – If the government decided to appeal, there would be some politician willing to perform hara-kiri and resign their federal post. It also sends a wrong signal to Sabah that the Federal Government are not honest and are derelict of their responsibilities to the people of Sabah on the full implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
The main question is clear: what corrective measures or discussions should address Sabah’s significant unpaid entitlement—possibly over 150 billion—if the Federal Government cannot pay by the 14 April 2026 deadline? What immediate remedies can be considered?
For entertainment purposes only.
1. The bailiff should seize the Petronas Twin Towers, which are worth 6.95 billion, by the end of 31 December 2024. (Rename it to Kita Punya Tower.)
2. The Baliff or the Government gave 60% or more control of Petronas shares to the Sabah State Government.
3. The bailiff or the government gave up 60% control of Khazanah Nasional Berhad’s share ownership to the Sabah State Government.
4. Sabahans and companies registered in Sabah are to be abstained from paying their income tax for the next 40 years to offset some of the unpaid 40% due to the Sabah Government.
5. Cash payment to the Sabah State Government, and included clearly in the Malaysia plan,
After listing this out among us, we don’t even come close to repaying, surpassing 50% of the money owed by the Federal Government over the years. So it is quite clear we need a strong state government to squeeze what has been taken.
Whatever it is, the future will come to be present, and it will be an interesting negotiation once the election fever subsides.
