KOTA KINABALU: Although the doubling of the annual federal special grant for Sabah to RM53.5mil is a welcome move, Budget 2020 has failed to address the call for the return of 40% of the federal revenue taken from the state, said State Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment of Sabah Datuk Christina Liew (pic). Saying that the RM5.2bil in development fund allocated to Sabah on Friday was also not enough, Liew said Sabah MPs should seek a mid-term review of the Budget. Liew said it was good news that for the first time since 1969, the annual Federal Special Grant of RM26.7mil for Sabah and RM16mil for Sarawak as provided for under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 was being reviewed. However, the Sabah PKR chairman asked why Lim had conveniently evaded the phrase “40% Special Grant” (pertaining to the revenue derived from Sabah) when he touched on the subject of the Special Grant, which was supposed to be reviewed every five years since 1969. “Sabah’s Special Grant is provided for in Part IV of the Tenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, ” said Liew.

Source: The Star October 12, 2019 23:37 UTC