By Our Special Correspondent (Majangkim Office)
SANDAKAN: On Monday, April 6, the Court of Appeal will decide whether Sabah waits another year — or whether the Constitution finally gets its way.
At issue: Should the Federal Government be granted a stay – a legal pause – on a High Court order compelling it to honour Sabah’s constitutional right to 40% of net federal revenue derived from the state?
Beneath that question lies a half-century of broken promises, creative accounting, and a federal administration that has mastered one thing: delay.
The law is precise. The law is fair. The Federal Government, to put it plainly, is a slippery old sod.
We formed Malaysia together. As equals. Not to be taken advantage of.
The Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) was signed in good faith. The Federal Government has violated it. Pacta Sunt Servanda – agreements must be kept – demands that Sabah receive what it is owed.
The Federal Government is a creature of the Constitution. It swore to protect the Constitution. It cannot wriggle free from the chains that bind it.
The Foundation That Cannot Be Moved
The Federal Constitution is supreme. Article 4(1) says so. Article 112C, read with the Tenth Schedule, Part IV, says:
Sabah is entitled to 40% of the net revenue derived by the Federation from the state.
Not 30%. Not “to be negotiated.” Not “whatever the Finance Ministry feels like releasing.”
Forty per cent. Precise. Mathematical. Unambiguous.
For fifty years — 1974 to 2021 — the Federal Government collected revenue from Sabah’s oil, gas, timber, and tourism. For fifty years, they paid far less than 40%. For fifty years, they offered excuses instead of cheques.
Then, on October 17, 2025, the Kota Kinabalu High Court said: No more.
Justice Datuk Celestina Stuel Galid ruled the Federal Government had acted unlawfully. She issued a mandamus order — a legal command — compelling a review within 90 days and an agreement within 180 days.
The deadline is April 15, 2026.
We Formed Malaysia Together — As Equals, Not as Prey
In 1963, Sabah was not conquered. Sabah was not colonised. Sabah was not purchased.
Sabah agreed. Together with Sarawak, Malaya, and Singapore, Sabah sat at the table as a partner — not a petitioner, not a province, not a possession.
Sabah surrendered its oil, gas, timber, and waters to the new Federation. In return, the Federation promised: 40% of net federal revenue derived from Sabah would be returned to Sabah.
That was the bargain. That was the deal.
We formed Malaysia together. Not to be taken advantage of. Not to be exploited. Not to be forgotten.
But for fifty years, that is exactly what happened. The Federal Government took Sabah’s resources. They filled federal treasuries. They built Putrajaya. They developed the Klang Valley. Sabah waited. Sabah asked. Sabah was ignored.
That is not partnership. That is not equality. That is not the Malaysia we agreed to build.
The MA63 Dimension: A Violation of Good Faith
MA63 was a solemn international treaty, later enshrined in the Constitution. It contained specific protections for Sabah – including the 40% entitlement – precisely because Sabah surrendered control of its natural resources.
The agreement was signed in good faith. That is the bedrock of international law:
Pacta Sunt Servanda – Agreements must be kept.
Three words. No exceptions. Fifty years of breach.
The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties — to which Malaysia is a party — states in Article 26:
“Every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed in good faith.”
The Federal Government cannot invoke “lost records” or “complex mechanics” as an excuse. Under international law, these are not valid reasons to break a treaty.
By denying Sabah its 40%, Putrajaya breached the fundamental trust upon which Malaysia was built. Pacta Sunt Servanda does not expire. An agreement signed in 1963 remains binding in 2026. A violation that began in 1974 remains a violation today.
The Federal Government’s Chain: The Constitution They Swore to Protect
The Federal Government is not above the Constitution. It exists because of the Constitution.
Every minister, every civil servant, every official who diverted Sabah’s revenue — they all took an oath. They swore to protect, preserve, and defend the Federal Constitution.
That oath is a chain. Binding. Unbreakable.
Article 112C is part of that Constitution. By denying Sabah its 40%, they broke their oath. They violated the document that gives them authority to govern.
As A.V. Dicey warned:
“Powers… are never really unlimited, for they are confined by the words of the Act itself.”
The Federal Government’s powers are confined by the Constitution. They cannot plead “mechanical difficulties” to escape Article 112C.
The chain does not break. The oath does not expire. The Constitution does not forget.
The International Chain: Treaties Are Not Optional
MA63 is an international treaty. The Vienna Convention applies.
Article 27 states:
“A party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty.”
The Federal Government cannot hide behind domestic procedural arguments – “unrealistic timeline,” “complex mechanics” – to excuse its breach.
Article 60 provides that a material breach entitles the aggrieved party to suspend the treaty. The 40% entitlement is central to MA63. Fifty years of denial is a material breach.
The Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Case (ICJ, 1997): Persistent non-compliance with core treaty obligations constitutes material breach. If a dam treaty cannot be ignored for fifty years, MA63 cannot.
The Rainbow Warrior Arbitration (1990): “Any violation by a State of any obligation… gives rise to State responsibility.” The Federal Government cannot escape by pleading “complexity.”
The Federal Government’s Response: Wriggle, Wriggle, Wriggle
How did the Federal Government respond? They appealed. They applied for a stay. They offered excuses:
The timeline is “unrealistic.”
They need to verify “manual records from The Lost Years.”
The “mechanics” are “complex.”
Translation: “We need more time” means “we had fifty years but didn’t prepare.” “Manual records” means “we will verify until you give up.” “Complex mechanics” means “we admit we owe you, but we will never pay.”
This is the playbook of a slippery old sod who learned that delay is cheaper than compliance.
The Two Futures: April 6 Decision Day
If the stay is GRANTED: The April 15 deadline dies. Negotiations become voluntary. Payment pushed to 2027 or later. Sabah furious. The sod buys another year.
If the stay is DISMISSED: The April 15 deadline lives — nine days left. Negotiations compulsory. Contempt risk high. Payment possible in 2026. Message: fifty years is enough.
The Powerful Twist That Changes Everything
A stay does not change the law. A stay is a denial of justice.
William E. Gladstone: “Justice delayed is justice denied.” For fifty years, Sabah has been denied. A stay would continue that denial.
Even if the Court grants every delay — even if the appeal drags into 2027 — Article 112C remains in force. MA63 remains binding. Pacta Sunt Servanda remains unbreakable. The oath remains sworn.
A stay is temporary. A constitutional right is permanent. A treaty obligation does not expire.
No court can strike down Article 112C. No procedural manoeuvre can make the Constitution blink.
The Constitution does not blink. The Constitution does not tire. The Constitution does not forget.
Pacta Sunt Servanda does not wriggle. It commands. It demands. It endures.
The Federal Government may be a slippery old sod. But the Constitution is a mountain. MA63 is a covenant. Pacta Sunt Servanda is the chain.
Mountains do not move. Covenants do not break. Chains do not wriggle.
What Sabah Can Do – Either Way
If stay granted: Sabah can return to the High Court, file fresh claims for each year from 2022-2026, intensify political pressure, and seek a declaration that Article 112C is self-executing.
If stay dismissed: Sabah can enforce the April 15 deadline, seek contempt proceedings, and demand automatic annual application of the 40%.
In either scenario, Sabah does not lose. At worst, Sabah waits. But waiting is not defeat.
The Human Meaning Behind the Numbers
Behind the jargon, there are real people.
The Sabah family without electricity for decades. While Putrajaya blazes with light, their children study by kerosene lamps.
The Sabah family without clean water. They walk kilometres each day to fetch water from murky rivers.
The Sabah teacher whose school roof has leaked for a decade.
The Sabah farmer whose roads are still gravel.
The Sabah elder who stood at the momentous event in 1963. He saw the flags raised. He believed the promises. He trusted that forming Malaysia together would bring a brighter future.
Now he is old. He wonders if he will live to see the promise kept.
He watched the Federal Government take Sabah’s oil. He watched highways built on the peninsula while Sabah’s roads crumbled. He watched his grandchildren leave because there were no jobs.
He sees it all lost. Not because Sabah failed. Lost because the Federal Government forgot. Lost because a slippery old sod decided fifty years of excuses was easier than one moment of justice.
The 40% is electricity for a thousand villages. Clean water from a million taps. Clinics. Schools. Roads. Jobs. Dignity.
These are not handouts. This was promised when we formed Malaysia together.
The Federal Government collected this money for fifty years. Now they ask for more time.
The elder does not have another fifty years. The family without electricity does not have another fifty years.
Pacta Sunt Servanda demands performance. Now.
Justice delayed is justice denied. For them. For Sabah.
The Bottom Line
April 6, 2026, is one day. The Federal Constitution is forever. MA63 is forever. Pacta Sunt Servanda is forever. The oath is forever.
The Court may grant the stay or dismiss it. But no judge can erase Article 112C.
Sabah is entitled to 40% of the net revenue derived by the Federation from the state.
Those words will still be there on April 7. On April 15. Forever.
Pay what you owe. Honour the agreement. Keep your word. Remember your oath. Remember the chain. Remember we formed Malaysia together — as equals, not as master and servant.
The slippery old sod has run out of places to hide.
The Constitution is watching. MA63 is watching. Pacta Sunt Servanda is watching.
The family without electricity is watching. The family without clean water is watching. The elder who saw 1963 is watching.
Sabah is watching. History is watching.
We formed Malaysia together. We will not be taken advantage of.
The Constitution commands. The chain holds. Sabah will prevail.
The lights will come on. The water will flow. The elder will see the promise kept.
And the slippery old sod will finally have nowhere left to hide.
The Court of Appeal delivers its ruling on April 6, 2026. Malaysia watches. Sabah waits. Hope holds its breath.
