BACHOK, March 5 — The giving of the special grant for Sabah and Sarawak under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution is being coordinated by the Finance Ministry, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.
He said the federal government, Sabah and Sarawak were now negotiating to finalise the formula and indicators for use in determining the rate of increase for the grant.
“Agreement in principle has been reached that the federal government would increase the special grant through reviews.
“Once a final decision has been reached, I believe the prime minister will announce the rate of increase for the special grant, and I’m confident the rate will exceed 100 per cent in the interests of Sabah and Sarawak people,” he said.
He told reporters this after the national-level conferment of accreditation on members of Kor Siswa Siswi Pertahanan Awam (Kor Sispa) at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan here today.
In January, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, after chairing the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Implementation Action Council meeting, had said the federal government had agreed to increase the special grant for Sarawak to RM300 million.
Anwar said the amount was only for the initial stage before a specific formula was worked out to determine the rate for the annual grant.
The prime minister had said the provision of the grant was decided by previous leaders who saw Sabah and Sarawak as lagging behind the peninsula during the formation of Malaysia. — Bernama
