KOTA KINABALU: The former chief minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Dr. Salleh Said Keruak, has expressed his thoughts on the proposal put forth by Sarawak’s premier, Abang Johari Openg, which suggests that the allocation of a special grant to the state should be determined by a percentage of its revenue.
For Sarawak, he said this can be discussed and negotiated as a policy formula between the state and the federal government.
However, for Sabah, Salleh said the issue of revenue sharing is not about introducing a new formula or is not relevant to Sabah.
“It is already clearly stated in the Perlembagaan Persekutuan Malaysia and linked to the spirit of the Perjanjian Malaysia 1963,” he said in his latest Facebook post.
Salleh asserted this is not about asking for extra allocations or special treatment, adding it is about rights agreed upon when Malaysia was formed.
“Sabah’s financial rights must be implemented according to the Constitution and the original agreement, not subject to changing political considerations.
“If there are different interpretations or implementation issues, clear and transparent explanations should be given to the people of Sabah. Ultimately, it is up to Sabahans to assess and decide whether to accept those explanations,” he added.
Salleh stressed that our decisions on this matter have already been made and should be respected and fully implemented.
