By Datuk J. Ligunjang, JP, Former State Assemblyman.
KOTA KINABALU: Invoking Article 112D(6) to appoint an Independent Assessor should be a central priority in negotiations between the State and Federal Governments.
This mechanism is essential to ensure fairness, transparency, and technical rigour in resolving the long‑running financial dispute over Sabah’s 40% entitlement to revenues collected by the Federal Government from Sabah.
An Independent Assessor appointed under Article 112D(6) would be able to undertake an impartial and professionally robust valuation of all relevant revenues from 1974 onwards, including the proper computation of arrears.
This would move the discussion away from partisan claims and contested accounting exercises, and instead anchor it in objective, evidence‑based analysis.
Resort to Article 112D(6) would also complement the ongoing court proceedings. An expert report could furnish judges, negotiators, and policymakers with credible data, transparent methodologies, and detailed findings.
In doing so, it would narrow factual disputes, facilitate informed decision‑making, and potentially accelerate an overall resolution.
An open, expert‑driven process would further enhance public confidence and trust in the eventual outcome.
By demonstrating that this dispute is being resolved through independent and professional scrutiny, it would help to strengthen State–Federal relations and, by extension, the integrity and cohesion of the Federation as a whole.
Moreover, an Independent Assessor is particularly well placed to address complex technical issues—such as revenue allocation formulas, historical accounting treatments, adjustments for inflation and discounting, as well as relevant statutory and constitutional interpretations—far more efficiently and cost‑effectively than prolonged evidentiary hearings and drawn‑out negotiations that might otherwise last for years.
It must be emphasised that the 40% revenue entitlement was a primary condition for Sabah’s entry into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, and is a constitutional right embedded in Article 112C and the Tenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution. Half a century of injustice and inequity should no longer be allowed to continue.
