Until Putrajaya Commits To Payment Sabah Only Earns A Pyrrhic Victory From Pmx S Political Calculus

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PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced following a special Cabinet meeting yesterday (Nov 12) that the Federal government would not appeal the decision of the Kota Kinabalu High Court affirming that Sabah is entitled to 40% of the federal revenue derived from the region.
Such is after all, a right firmly grounded in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), the Cobbold Commission Report and the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Agreement.
Following the landmark judgment, anxiety mounted in Sabah over whether Putrajaya would proceed with an appeal.

With the 17th Sabah state elections fast approaching (Nv 29), the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition – an ally in the Federal unity government – went into panic mode.
When will money be returned to Sabah?
An appeal by the federal government would have been politically disastrous, likely alienating Sabah voters and jeopardising GRS’s electoral prospects.
Anwar was well aware of this political calculus. His decision not to appeal is therefore less an act of statesmanship than a calculated move to secure electoral advantage for the ruling coalition.
However, the decision not to appeal does not automatically mean that Putrajaya will transfer the constitutionally due revenue to Sabah any time soon. The implementation, quantum and timeline of payment remain unclear.
Anwar’s earlier comments – claiming that the federal government contributes RM17 bil annually to Sabah while the state generates only RM10 bil in revenue – were disingenuous.

Such comparisons ignore decades of federal revenue extraction from Sabah since the signing of MA63.
Political stratagem
The real question now is this: if the federal government is not appealing the court’s decision, how and when will the “lost” revenue be returned to Sabah? What use is a favourable court ruling if the federal government is not in a financial or political position to honour it?
GRS leaders may celebrate the federal decision not to appeal but their jubilation may be short-lived. Without a firm commitment from Putrajaya on payment, this is at best a pyrrhic victory – symbolically satisfying yet materially hollow.
Ultimately, the move appears to be a political stratagem rather than a genuine step toward restoring Sabah’s fiscal rights.

It is both sad and tragic that Sabah’s leaders are forced to depend on court decisions and political manoeuvres for what is rightfully theirs under MA63.
In this struggle, politics has been reduced to an instrument of expediency – one that sidelines the larger quest for justice, equality and fair revenue sharing in the federation. 
Former DAP stalwart and Penang chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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