Tambunan assemblyman Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has proposed the formation of a bipartisan select committee in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly to strengthen efforts to secure the state’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Speaking during the debate on the Supplementary Supply Bill 2026 on Monday, Jeffrey questioned why the Federal Government continues to make interim revenue payments to Sabah despite a court ruling declaring the practice invalid.
“If the court has already made its decision and issued an order, why are we not complying with it? Does the government not respect the court’s ruling?” he asked.
Jeffrey said the RM1.5 billion interim payment announced during this year’s Kaamatan Festival had become part of an annual practice that failed to address Sabah’s constitutional entitlement to 40 per cent of the net revenue collected by the Federation from the state.
He claimed the payments appeared to be aimed at placating Sabah rather than fulfilling the Federal Government’s constitutional obligations.
He also questioned why the Federal Government has yet to activate a constitutional mechanism to appoint an independent assessor to determine the state’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement.
Jeffrey further argued that Sabah has not received its share of the 10 per cent export duty on petroleum, which he estimated to be worth about RM1 billion annually based on petroleum exports exceeding RM10 billion.
He added that a previous 10 per cent import duty on petroleum products was replaced in 2007 with a much smaller fixed payment following an ASEAN tariff agreement that was never implemented. As a result, Sabah currently receives between RM120 million and RM270 million annually instead of the estimated RM1 billion it should be entitled to.
According to Jeffrey, the unresolved revenue issues and other outstanding MA63 matters raise serious questions over the implementation of both the Federal Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement after more than six decades.
He estimated that the Federal Government collects at least RM50 billion in revenue from Sabah each year, meaning the state’s 40 per cent share would amount to about RM20 billion.
Combined with Sabah’s own annual revenue of between RM6 billion and RM7 billion, Jeffrey said the state could have a budget exceeding RM26 billion, allowing it to tackle long-standing issues such as water supply, road infrastructure, poverty and underdevelopment without relying on supplementary allocations.
He also suggested that if Sabah is unable to secure its constitutional rights through existing government channels, the state should consider taking legal action against the United Kingdom or bringing the matter before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
While expressing support for the Supplementary Supply Bill, Jeffrey questioned the size of the additional spending, noting that it accounted for about 25 per cent of the state budget, with nearly 70 per cent allocated to statutory body contributions and general treasury services.
He suggested that some of the expenditure could instead be deferred until the state budget is tabled in October, with greater priority given to agricultural development, farm roads, village roads and flood mitigation projects.
Jeffrey also highlighted the RM27 million allocation for the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, expressing hope that it would include funding for long-delayed flood mitigation projects in Tambunan that had already received Cabinet approval.
