Kuala Lumpur: The government will gazette an order by the end of this year to enable Sabah to receive the remaining RM900 million of its RM1.5 billion special grant, says Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan.
He said RM600 million had already been paid, with the balance to be disbursed after the order is gazetted.
“God willing, the order will be gazetted before the end of this year. The balance will be paid once that is done,” he said when winding up the debate on the Finance Ministry’s budget allocation for 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat.
Amir was responding to Wilfred Madius Tangau (GRS-Tuaran), who asked when the remaining RM900 million would be paid.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in May that Sabah’s annual special grant would be increased from RM600 million to RM1.5 billion.
The first RM600 million was paid on June 12.
The RM1.5 billion is an interim payment while the federal and Sabah governments determine the full amount owed to the state under the Federal Constitution.
Under the constitution, Sabah is entitled to 40% of the net increase in federal revenue derived from the state compared with the amount collected in 1963.
However, both governments have yet to reach an agreement on the amount payable under this formula.
Madius also sought an assurance that the new order would not affect Sabah’s constitutional entitlement to the 40% revenue share.
Amir said the federal government had never denied Sabah’s right to the payment.
Separately, Amir said the accountant-general’s department had recorded more than RM14 billion in unclaimed money as of Sept 30.
He said the public’s lack of awareness of such funds and the right to claim them were among the main reasons the money remained unclaimed.
“Other factors include the failure to locate the owners of the funds due to outdated contact information,” he said.
Amir said the government had introduced several measures to simplify the process of refunding the money to its owners, including those in rural areas.
“The department’s eGUMIS portal makes it easier for the public to check for and claim unclaimed money online,” he said.
