Speech by Daniel John Jambun, President, Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
Limbahau, Papar
My fellow Sabahans, friends, and brothers and sisters of Limbahau,
Today, I want to speak not about politics — but about truth, dignity, and justice.
Because for far too long, the people of Sabah have been treated as if our rights are a favour, our entitlements a negotiation, and our future something to be decided in Kuala Lumpur.
This morning, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told Malaysians that the Federal Government has already paid Sabah its 40% entitlement — that we have received RM17 billion a year from Putrajaya.
But I stand here today to tell you the truth: that is a lie.
That RM17 billion never entered Sabah’s State Consolidated Fund, as required by the Federal Constitution.
It was never our money — it was federal expenditure, money used to pay teachers’ salaries, to fund hospitals, police, and army camps — all of which are the responsibility of the Federal Government, not payments to the State of Sabah.
Let’s be clear:
The 40% entitlement is not about how much the Federal Government spends in Sabah.
It is about what belongs to Sabah — 40% of all net federal revenue collected from our land, our resources, and our people.
That money must be returned directly to our state treasury.
Not one sen of that has been done.
And yet, while the Prime Minister tells us about generosity, the truth is this:
Every year, only 40% to 60% of the federal development budget for Sabah is actually spent.
The rest — billions of ringgit — never reach the ground.
It gets lost in bureaucracy, delayed by red tape, or quietly reallocated elsewhere.
So even the money that is supposedly “given” to Sabah never really reaches our people.
And they dare tell us that justice has been done?
Let us not forget — the High Court has already ruled that the Federal Government acted unlawfully by failing to pay Sabah what we are owed for nearly fifty years.
That ruling is not a suggestion — it is a judgment.
It must be implemented, not appealed.
When Putrajaya chooses to appeal a lawful judgment, it is not dialogue — it is defiance.
Anwar Ibrahim speaks of “negotiations, not confrontation.”
But who is confronting whom?
Sabah has never sought confrontation.
We have only asked that the Federation respect the promises made in 1963 — the promises that brought us into Malaysia.
If asking for justice is called confrontation, then what they truly fear is accountability.
Let me say this plainly:
The 40% entitlement is not charity.
It is not aid.
It is not a handout from Kuala Lumpur.
It is our constitutional right, our birthright as a partner in this Federation.
And if the Prime Minister truly believes that RM17 billion is our 40%, then I challenge him —
Show us the proof.
Show us the Treasury statements.
Show us the audit trail that this money was ever paid into Sabah’s Consolidated Fund.
Show us, or stop lying to the people.
We are no longer fooled by slogans about “Madani” and “cooperation.”
We want compliance with the Constitution.
We want restitution for what has been stolen.
We want the respect that was promised when Malaysia was formed.
Brothers and sisters,
This is not about confrontation — it is about correction.
It is about restoring what belongs to us so that our children do not have to beg for what was theirs all along.
For sixty years, they have talked.
Enough of talk.
Now we demand action, restitution, and respect.
Justice for Sabah is not a privilege to be granted by the Prime Minister.
It is a right guaranteed by law, written in the Constitution, and affirmed by the courts.
And as long as there are Sabahans who will stand up and speak the truth — here in Limbahau, in Papar, and across this land — they will never silence us again.
Thank you.
Daniel John Jambun President
Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
