Ploy after ploy to delay implementation of 40% Sabah's right to tax

Fadhilah Yusof (centre) with Sabah's Ewon Benedik and Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, at their "perpetual negotiating"  mode on the state's right to the 40% tax collected by the Federal.

By Daniel John Jambun, 15-7-2025

THE recent statement by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof that Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement will only be “finalised” after the September 12 MA63 Implementation Council meeting raises more questions than answers.

If the Sabah government has already submitted its proposed solutions during the Technical Committee meeting, why the delay in presenting them to the Prime Minister? Why must Sabah wait for another two months for a meeting in Kuala Lumpur — especially when this right has been constitutionally enshrined since the formation of Malaysia?

Let us be clear: Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement is not a policy matter up for negotiation. It is a constitutional right — hard-won by our forefathers and explicitly safeguarded under Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution.

Yet we are now seeing signs of a deliberate strategy to delay and dilute that right — under the guise of “resolving the matter outside court.”

We firmly believe that this is an attempt to preempt the landmark judicial review filed by the Sabah Law Society (SLS) — a move that could strip the case of its legal significance by claiming the issue has already been “resolved” politically.

Make no mistake: if the Federal Government is allowed to resolve this matter solely through political channels, future governments — particularly one dominated by UMNO or other Peninsula-centric coalitions — can simply reverse or ignore any so-called resolution.

Only a binding court declaration can protect Sabah’s rights from being trampled again in the future.

We therefore issue this clear warning:

Any attempt to bypass the courts, to render the SLS case “academic”, or to impose a settlement without judicial affirmation is nothing short of constitutional sabotage.

The people of Sabah will not accept secret deals brokered in Putrajaya to water down our rightful claim.

We demand full transparency and accountability on every proposal submitted and discussed at the MTPMA63.

We will defend Sabah’s constitutional rights without compromise. The courts must be allowed to decide. Let justice speak — not backroom politics.

Anything less is a betrayal of the Malaysia Agreement 1963, a betrayal of Sabah’s sovereignty, and a betrayal of the generations who fought to ensure Sabah’s rightful place in the Federation.

Daniel John Jambun is President of

Borneo's Plight in Malaysia Foundation

&

Change Advocate Movement Sabah (CAMOS).#~Borneo Herald™