By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Nov 13: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has described the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s judgment accusing the federal government and the Sabah government of abusing power and violating constitutional duties since 1974 as excessively harsh.
In a TVS news, Anwar said the ruling should be appealed and overturned, as it unfairly claims that both governments neglected Sabah under the leadership of the late Tun Abdul Razak and the late Tun Datu Mustapha Harun.
He noted that parts of the judgment go beyond legal reasoning.
“Can we remain silent and accept a record that labels actions as illegal, irrational, procedurally improper, or disproportionate? Such a judgment has never occurred before, and it implicates multiple governments over decades.
“This ruling affects the federal government under Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and successive administrations, as well as Sabah governments led by Tun Mustapha, Tun Fuad Stephen, and Members of Parliament from earlier periods,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Anwar was responding to a question from Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah (Barisan Nasional–Paya Besar) regarding the federal government’s decision not to appeal the High Court ruling on Sabah’s Special Grant, based on 40 percent of revenue, instead choosing to appeal on other procedural grounds.
He further said the judgment reasoning suggested that any review after 2021 would be unlawful, irrational, and procedurally irregular, as well as disproportionate.
“The decision is serious, and we hope it will not be politicised. It must be appealed, and we trust the court will overturn it, as the accusations are unfair to all governments involved,” Anwar said.
The Prime Minister added that the federal government has a duty to maintain good relations with state governments, resolve issues rationally, and manage negotiations effectively.
Anwar however reaffirmed that this appeal in no way affects the Madani government’s commitment to finalising Sabah’s Special Grant in accordance with the 40 percent revenue entitlement stipulated in the Federal Constitution.
This followed the federal government’s decision not to appeal the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s decision affirming Sabah’s constitutional entitlement to 40 per cent of federal revenue collected from the state but will challenge parts of the judgment it says contain “defects” and inaccurate claims.
In a statement on Nov 11, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) said the government respects the constitutional basis of the 40 per cent Special Grant provision and will begin negotiations with the Sabah government “urgently” to implement it.
However, the AGC said the written judgment included statements suggesting that both the federal and Sabah governments had “abused their powers and breached constitutional duties” dating back to 1974, and described the 2021 Special Grant review as “unlawful, irrational, procedurally flawed and disproportionate”.
The federal government will be filing an appeal with respect to these defects in the written judgment. — DayakDaily
