KOTA KINABALU, Oct 4 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the federal government will continue its best efforts to fulfil any obligations towards Sabah even after Pakatan Harapan leaders withdrew their suit against the federal government on entitlements under state rights.
Anwar said that since they took over the federal government last November, they have done their best to fulfil the state’s rights as enshrined in the Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“As a result of our good-faith relationship between us, we have managed to get some results.
“We have done our best to solve some of the issues and I guarantee that we will continue on this trajectory and discuss what else we need to get done,” he said during his speech for the closing ceremony of the government’s Islamic affairs bodies convention here tonight.
Anwar thanked the PH leaders who initiated the suit for withdrawing the originating summons filed in June last year when PH was part of the opposition.
The 12 elected representatives filed a claim against the federal government in the High Court to seek Sabah rights to its entitlement for the return of 40 per cent federal revenue from the state.
They sought a declaration that Sabah is entitled to 40 per cent of revenue from the federal government to be annually returned, and for the federal government to disclose the amount of net revenue it derives from Sabah annually.
However, they recently announced that they were withdrawing the suit, given the amount of progress that has been achieved since PH formed the unity government, which many saw as a pandering move.
The move earned criticism from several parties. However, a suit of a similar nature filed by Sabah Law Society is still in the legal process.
