MA63: Formula for 40% revenue grant to be finalised by July 2024, says Ewon

KOTA KINABALU: According to Datuk Ewon Benedick, a formula for the 40% special revenue grant for Sabah is expected to be finalized by July next year. Ewon is the president of Upko and part of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Technical Committee Implementation Council that handles this matter. This agreement was made during their ongoing meetings and discussions this year.

“The Federal Government has agreed to finalize the implementation of the 40% federal revenue allocation formula by July next year and this is made possible through the MA63 technical committee implementation council,” Ewon said at the Upko National Convention, held in Kota Kinabalu on Sept 9.

The council responsible for this matter is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister II Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. Ewon, as a decision-maker in this council and member of the Cabinet, has the duty to push and ensure that the timeline is met.

A working committee, led by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Armizan Ali, has been established to formulate the mechanism before it is presented to the council.

“The special grants for Sabah under Article 112D have also been improved, and new notices will be issued by the Federal Government, thereby revoking the previous notices that were challenged in court,” stated Ewon, who is also the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives minister.

Last year in June, a group of Sabah Pakatan Harapan leaders filed a claim in the High Court to demand Sabah’s entitlement to the return of 40% federal revenue from the state. They sought a declaration that Sabah is entitled to the 40% revenue derived by the Federal Government from the state annually, as stated in the Constitution.

Their lawyer Datuk Nelson Angang clarified that they were seeking a declaration under Article 112C and Section 2(1) of Part IV of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

In the lawsuit against the government of Malaysia and government of Sabah, they also requested the disclosure of the amount of net revenue derived from Sabah annually by the Federal Government.

Angang further stated that they were also seeking a declaration that any review under Article 112D of the Constitution must be based on an amount that reflects and equals the value of the amount due to the state.

Ewon assured that even if Sabah Pakatan succeeded in forming a government with other political parties after GE15, they would not withdraw the lawsuit.

The High Court of Sabah and Sarawak originally scheduled the preliminary hearing of the lawsuit for July 31, but the case was adjourned to September 20 for the parties to update the court on whether they still intend to pursue the suit.