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Kota Kinabalu: Sabah’s 40 per cent entitlement has never been used as a political bargaining chip, said the Press Secretary to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak), Ahmad Farid Sainuri (pic).He said remarks by Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud were quoted out of context, creating the impression that Sabah’s constitutional rights were linked to political support for the Madani Government.
"What the Minister intended to highlight was the Madani Government’s commitment to addressing Sabah’s needs, with the interim payment increasing from RM300 million in 2023 to RM600 million in 2024 and RM1.5 billion annually now," he said in a statement.
He said the RM1.5 billion Interim Special Grant was not, and had never been, regarded as a substitute for resolving Sabah’s 40 per cent entitlement, but was an interim payment pending the finalisation of the actual amount of the Special Grant.
He said the formula, actual amount and implementation mechanism remained part of the process being finalised between the Sabah Government, through the State Secretary and Sabah Ministry of Finance, and the Federal Government through the Secretary-General of the Treasury, with all matters concerning Sabah and Sarawak’s rights under MA63 to be resolved in accordance with the Constitution without compromising national unity.
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