Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s “special explanation” in Parliament on tax revenue owed to Sabah fails the simplest test of truth.
Supreme Council Member cum Vice Youth Chief, Yong Yit Jee said the High Court’s Oct. 17 judgment was clear — the Federal Government’s inaction for 48 long years, from 1974 to 2021, was unlawful, irrational and unconstitutional.
“This is not a matter of political generosity. It is about justice delayed and dignity denied. For nearly half a century, Sabah’s rightful 40 per cent share of federal revenue — guaranteed under Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution — was ignored,” he said.
“The Court has now confirmed what Sabahans have always known: our rights were withheld, our trust betrayed.”He said no amount of “development spending” can erase this truth as Federal projects and budget figures are not autonomy.
He said Sabah has no authority to decide how those allocations are spent, no control over priorities, and no power to determine its own destiny. Every project is approved, delayed, or cancelled at the pleasure of Putrajaya.
“That is not partnership. That is dependency — and it violates the very spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which promised Sabah equality, not subordination.”The Court has ordered a full review within 90 days and a binding agreement within 180 days. That is not a suggestion; it is a judicial command.
Hence, he said, the Prime Minister should stop dressing delay as dialogue and face what the Court has made plain: the law has been broken, and it must now be obeyed.
“Sabah does not need handouts or sympathy. We demand what the Constitution already guarantees — our 40pc, our right, our future.
“The era of silence is over. The people of Sabah will no longer accept excuses in place of justice” he said.
