KOTA KINABALU, Sept 12 — The federal government today agreed to increase the interim special grant for Sabah and Sarawak from RM300 million to RM600 million from next year, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
He said this was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63) meeting here today.
The meeting was also attended by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
Fadillah, who is also MTPMA63 technical committee chairman, said although the interim special grant is due to be reviewed every five years, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim decided to increase it sooner.
“Last year, he announced RM300 million for each state, and (at the meeting) today, he decided to increase the interim special grant from RM300 million to RM600 million each for Sabah and Sarawak.
“This will begin in 2025. It was supposed to be announced during the tabling of the Budget 2025 (next month), but the prime minister announced it at the meeting today,” he told reporters after the meeting at the Sabah International Convention Centre here.
Fadillah said the formula for special grant to Sabah and Sarawak, however, has yet to be finalised as it would be up to the two states to decide.
He also said there were four unresolved issues at today’s meeting — conflicting stamp duty jurisdiction, state rights over the continental shelf, oil royalties, and the one-third parliamentary seat composition for Sabah and Sarawak.
He said the four issues listed in the “agree to disagree” category will be deliberated by Anwar, Hajiji and Abang Johari.
“The Madani government remains committed to ensuring that the demands under MA63 are resolved promptly for the overall well-being of all Malaysians.
“Other issues or demands related to MA63 will be discussed and monitored through other negotiation platforms, namely MTPMA63 technical committee, to ensure these outstanding demands are addressed appropriately,” he added.
Also present at the meeting were the three Sabah Deputy Chief Ministers Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, Datuk Seri Joachim Gunsalam and Datuk Shahelmey Yahya, and the three Sarawak Deputy Premiers Datuk Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, and Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas.
— Bernama
