By Yussof J. Imbang
KOTA KINABALU: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Sabah today is anticipated to capture the attention of all residents in the state concerning the recent assessment of the 40 percent net revenue claim for Sabah
Chairman of the Backbencer (BBC) of the State Assembly (DUN), Datuk Masiung Banah stated that the people of Sabah have high hopes that the Prime Minister will bring “good news” following the two main frameworks of the current tax claims that were not contested in the recent meeting of the Technical Committee for the Implementation of the Malaysia Agreement (MA63).
Anwar is currently on a brief visit to Sabah and is scheduled to visit Pulau Banggi today alongside the Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He mentioned that Anwar’s visit to Sabah this time is highly anticipated concerning the two main elements of the state revenue claim valued at RM3.019 billion, which were confirmed during the Sabah DUN Conference on April 27.
“The state government’s stance regarding the latest framework is clear, as presented in the motion by the Minister of Finance, Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun at the DUN conference two weeks ago.
“The revenue from these two tax components must begin with immediate payments by the Federal Government through customs tax collection and the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) tax,” he emphasized.
Masiung, who is also the ADUN of Kuamut, asserted that the undisputed tax amount should be paid first before continuing negotiations for other taxes that are still under discussion.
He stated that the Prime Minister’s announcement regarding this matter is crucial for all Sabahans as a mechanism of the Madani government ahead of the upcoming 16th General Election.
The Chairman of the Sedco Group emphasised that based on current estimates, the 40 percent share of Sabah from tax collection amounts to approximately RM7.547 billion from customs and LHDN taxes, thus the special allocation for Sabah is RM3.019 billion.
