Putrajaya insists Sabah’s 40pc revenue ruling is a priority as critics warn of deadline

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 14 — The federal government has insisted that the implementation of the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruling on Sabah’s entitlement to 40 per cent of net federal revenue remains a top priority after legal and political figures warned that tangible progress has yet to materialise with the court-imposed deadline fast approaching.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the ruling during the federal Cabinet meeting today.

“The prime minister has expressed serious concern over compliance with the Kota Kinabalu High Court decision regarding Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue claim, and has placed this issue as a top priority at today’s Cabinet meeting,” he said.

He emphasised that the ruling had set out two implementation timelines: a 90-day period to review the rate of Sabah’s Special Grant, and a 180-day period for the Federal Government and the Sabah Government to reach an agreement and implement a payment mechanism.

“The 90-day period ended today, during which one meeting between the Federal Government and the Sabah Government was held on November 17, 2025 as part of the initial review process and discussions on the framework, parameters and fundamental matters related to the implementation of the court decision,” he said.

Mustapha said he has also paid courtesy calls to the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah Tun Musa Aman and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor yesterday to reinforce the resolve to expedite the entire review process in accordance with the court’s timeline.

However, with the 90-day review period nearing its end, critics argue that the government’s response so far has fallen short of the “serious and sustained engagement” envisaged by the judgment.

The Sabah Law Society (SLS), which initiated the judicial review, cautioned that delay would undermine both the High Court’s ruling and the constitutional process.

SLS president Datuk Mohamed Nazim Maduarin said compliance required more than the formal commencement of discussions, warning that “preliminary or episodic” engagement could not be equated with good-faith compliance.

“The court’s order carries binding legal consequences and must be implemented with urgency and good faith. The timelines prescribed are integral to the administration of justice,” he said.

Nominated Sabah assemblyman Datuk Roger Chin echoed those concerns, saying there had been no significant or substantive progress as the review reached the halfway mark of the 180-day timeframe.

Chin said that beyond a single preliminary meeting, there had been no negotiations on the quantum owed, no agreed methodology, no disclosure to support an accounting exercise, and no concrete timetable to give effect to the judgment.

He added that a second meeting scheduled for December 19 was postponed by the federal government without explanation or a replacement date, reinforcing concerns about the lack of urgency.

“A single meeting followed by an open-ended postponement cannot reasonably be characterised as good-faith compliance with the court’s orders,” Chin said.

On October 17, Kota Kinabalu High Court judge Justice Datuk Celestina Stuel Galid ruled that the federal government had breached Sabah’s constitutional rights by failing to honour the state’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement, which remains payable for each financial year from 1974 to 2021.

While Putrajaya has repeatedly said it remains committed to implementing the ruling, critics warn that without immediate and substantive engagement, the government risks missing the court-mandated deadlines — and with it, undermining public confidence in the rule of law.