By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 18: Political pundit Dato Peter Minos hopes the federal government will not appeal the High Court’s ruling affirming Sabah’s right to retain 40 per cent of its revenue collection, warning that doing so would show “bad faith and a defiance against the Federal Constitution.”
“I am very happy that the High Court has ruled that 40 per cent of revenue collected in Sabah be retained by Sabah. This is a big financial break for our neighbour, our friend,” he said in a statement today.
He stressed that the federal government must now act “with honour, dignity, and honesty” by fulfilling what is constitutionally owed to Sabah.
“So far, it has gone against the Constitution, and so it must not make the situation worse. What it owes Sabah must be paid. As to how it will be done, I believe it can be sorted out,” he added.
Minos said Sabah, like Sarawak, needs every ringgit it can get for its development and infrastructure.
“I was in Sabah a month ago, and I can say that Sabah needs lots of money for improving and upgrading its electricity and water supply infrastructure. So too are its roads. The Pan Borneo Highway needs money to be completed in Sabah,” he said.
He also noted that by Nov 29, Sabah will have a new government that will benefit from this landmark ruling.
“That new government, headed by whichever party or Chief Minister, will start with one big ‘angpow’. It will have a good start, one promising start with money waiting—thanks to the High Court,” he said.
Minos, however, cautioned that the new State government must use the funds responsibly.
“We hope and pray that the new government will use its newfound wealth wisely and properly, with no hanky-panky to be tolerated. The people of Sabah want it this way, I’m sure,” he said.
He congratulated Sabah, describing the court’s decision as a “stroke of good fortune” for the “Land Below the Wind”.
“Once again, we are saying that Sabah is in for good luck, and so best wishes to our neighbour,” Minos added.
Yesterday (Oct 17), the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruled that the federal government had acted unlawfully by failing to honour Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement for nearly five decades.
Judge Celestine Stuel Galid declared that the arrangements made between the federal and Sabah governments were “unlawful, ultra vires and irrational,” rendering the Second and Third Review Orders invalid. — DayakDaily
