By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, May 30: Sabah’s special grant interim payment has been increased from RM600 million to RM1.5 billion pending the finalisation of the State’s constitutional claim to a 40 per cent revenue entitlement.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also reiterated his administration’s commitment to fulfilling the claim under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and is working out the details of its implementation.
“The Madani government has established that the implementation of Sabah’s 40 per cent entitlement is a policy that must be carried out. There is no longer any debate about whether it should be implemented.
“What remains is to refine the mechanism and method of implementation,” he said when officiating the 2026 Sabah Kaamatan Festival at the Hongkod Koisaan Hall of the Kadazandusun Cultural Association in Penampang today.
He also clarified that the government does not intend to delay the process but rather it wants to ensure that every decision made is done so carefully and responsibly.
Anwar elaborated that detailed discussions are ongoing, as decisions involving the MA63 would have broader implications for federal-State relations and for other states.
“This interim payment is not the final solution, but it demonstrates the government’s commitment to fulfilling its responsibilities to Sabah while the negotiation process is concluded in the near future,” he said.
Last October, the Kota Kinabalu High Court ordered Putrajaya and the Sabah government to conduct a mandatory review of Sabah’s special grant entitlement—40 per cent of federal revenue collected from the State—which has remained pending since 1974. — DayakDaily
