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FORMER Sabah Law Society (SLS) president Roger Chin has refuted Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s claim that the Federal Government has complied with its constitutional obligations to Sabah through review exercises in 2022, 2023, and 2025.
Chin said the High Court’s 17 October ruling found that the omission of the second review in 1974 was a breach of Article 112D and that later gazette orders did not cure that constitutional breach.
“Those gazette reviews from 2022 to 2025 were constitutionally ineffective because they ignored the 40 per cent formula and were not conducted jointly with the State Government.
The Court reaffirmed that the 40 per cent entitlement remains the law. Any review that omits that calculation cannot be said to comply,” he said.
Chin was the lawyer who filed for the review when he was president of SLS in June 2022.
PM’s statement and figures
In his 22 October parliamentary address, Anwar said reviews were “lawful and consistent with Article 112D” and raised Sabah’s allocation from RM26.7 million in 2021 to RM125.6 million (2022), RM300 million (2023) and RM600 million (2025). The latest payment, made on 10 September, was described as interim while a new formula is developed.
Chin said the Court’s declaration made clear that no executive order or gazette can override the Constitution.
“What remains of those orders has no legal force where they contradict the Court’s declaration,” he said.
He added that the RM600 million special grant was recognised by the Court as a temporary measure, not compliance.
“The Court recognised the RM600 million as an interim measure. It is a gesture, not compliance.”
Deadlines and implications
Under the judgment, the Federal and Sabah governments must start a proper review within 90 days and reach agreement within 180 days, using the 40 per cent formula. The first deadline falls in mid-January 2026.
Chin said genuine compliance requires a joint, transparent process involving disclosure of federal revenue figures derived from Sabah. Any delay, he warned, would constitute continued breach.
The issue has since taken on political weight ahead of the 29 November state election, where the unity-government partners GRS, BN, and PH are competing separately. For many Sabahans, the 40 per cent entitlement has become a litmus test of Putrajaya’s sincerity under MA63.
“This is about constitutional honour, not politics,” Chin said. “The Constitution has spoken; it is time to comply.” - October 26, 2025