Kota Kinabalu: The Federal Government has been urged to finalise its decision on Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement in a special meeting scheduled for June 30.
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said the State Government has repeatedly requested data related to the claim but has yet to receive it.
He said the refusal to provide the data forced the State to take the initiative to collect the information independently and submit it to the Federal Government.
“Now, we are asking the Federal Government to finalise and make a decision because we have requested figures or data from them 13 times, but they have yet to provide.
“We do not want to wait any longer, we must be proactive. That’s why we took the initiative to collect the data ourselves and submitted figures amounting to billions of ringgit to the Federal Government.
“In last week’s Technical Committee Meeting of the Action Council for the Implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (JKTMTPMA63), we proposed a special meeting on June 30 in Sabah to resolve the 40 per cent issue, and it has been agreed upon,” he said while officiating the Luyang Division of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), here, Friday.
Jeffrey, who is also Star President, hopes the meeting will prompt a response from the Federal Government regarding the submitted data.
“If there is no agreement, we can appoint an independent appraiser to decide on the matter.
“We also do not want to rely solely on an interim payment. While the amount has increased to RM600 million, it remains only a temporary measure pending a final decision on the 40 per cent claim.
“I am confident that we will get something because this is what the people have been waiting for. It is the key to our development — if we secure it, we can accelerate our State’s progress and solve our problems more effectively and efficiently,” he said.