Strong political will be needed to pursue 40% due to Sabah – SAPP

KOTA KINABALU - The recent forum on ‘The Agreement to Formation of Malaysia 1963′ moderated by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Anifah Aman at University Malaysia Sabah highlighted once again the rights of Sabah as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

According to SAPP deputy president and former Luyang assemblywoman Melanie Chia Chui Ket, one such right is the Special Grants to Sabah under the Tenth Schedule Part IV Section 2(1) of the Federal Constitution.

Melanie, in a statement yesterday, pointed out that this was a subject she had previously brought up where she had urged the State Government to demand for the share of revenue collected from Sabah.

Her plea on the matter however fell on deaf ears as the Barisan Nasional leaders in Sabah were apparently subservient to their Federal masters, she said.

Now that even leaders in the Barisan Nasional government are acknowledging the fact that Sabah and Sarawak are BN’s ‘fixed deposits’ states, the cry for greater autonomy for the state can no longer be ignored, she stressed.

The recent examples being the call by Sabah State Legislative Assembly Speaker and Umno Sabah deputy chief Datuk Seri Panglima Salleh Said Keruak for partial autonomy. His call was echoed and supported by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Melanie pointed out.

“They should not just give lip service but have more courage to act upon it for the benefit of Sabahans,” she said.

Melanie feels strongly that the Sabah Government should emulate the Sarawak State Government and stand up for Sabah’s rights.

She said if the political will is there, it will not be difficult to pursue what is already enshrined in the Constitution and one of these is the 40 per cent of net revenue derived by the Federal Government from Sabah.

She said that Sabah Customs had announced that they target to collect RM1.2 billion in taxes under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be enforced on April 1. By operation of the Federal Constitution, the State Government should proceed to claim and retain RM480 million of this tax to be collected for Sabah.

“And not just GST collections, the same percentage claim should be levied on income tax collections, sales taxes collections, and all other Federal revenues due to the Federal Government collected from Sabah”, Melanie stressed.

Immediate action can be taken by the State Government to demand and collect what is due to the state and her people because these are already guaranteed to us in Sabah in the Federal Constitution.