Sabah will ‘live and die with Malaysia’, Hajiji vows amid renewed challenge on sovereignty

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 6 — Dismissing talks of any territorial claims on Sabah, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said that there is no question that Sabah is part of Malaysia and will not change.

He said that despite this, there have always been issues of claims from neighbouring countries, but the state remains firm in its sovereignty.

“We have to make this stance as strong as possible, we are not recognising any claims from any groups or parties,

“It’s been 61 years since we formed Malaysia together. What else is there to argue? We will live and die with Malaysia,” he said after a ceremony to present scholarships to some 84 students in the state.

Yesterday, Hajiji had thanked the federal government for their support and firm stance on protecting the state.

The Philippine government and independent groups in Southern Philippines have had an open claim over Sabah for decades, with the dispute has seen periodic flare-ups involving diplomatic notes, legal actions, and even armed incursions.

Most recently, a video circulating on social media containing baseless and misleading content had questioned the sovereignty of Sabah as an integral part of Malaysia.

In a separate development, Hajiji reiterated its commitment to negotiating for its 40 per cent share of the revenue collected by the federal government from the state as provided for in Article 112D of the Federal Constitution.

“It’s in the Constitution. We will be negotiating with the federal government, don’t worry. We will talk to the federal government,” he said when asked.

Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said that the federal government has spent some RM16 billion on Sabah in terms of operating and development expenditure, while it derived some RM10 billion in taxes and duties from the state.

Hajiji said that the 40 per cent was what Sabah was entitled to, non withstanding the federal expenditure for the state.

“The RM16 billion is what the federal government has spent in Sabah this year. That has nothing to do with the 40 per cent,” he said.

When asked whether the state agreed with the RM10 billion calculations and whether it would ask for RM4 billion as its constitutional 40 per cent special grant, Hajiji declined to answer.