Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 25, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the federal government’s revenue-sharing formula for Sabah and Sarawak may only be applicable after the fiscal position of the country improves.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, Guan Eng said the government requires more time, at least until next year, to come up with the right revenue-sharing formula to address the matter.

“If we are to implement it (the formula), it is necessary for us to wait until our financial position permits it. This is the commitment by the government,” he said when answering an oral question by Wong Chen (Pakatan Harapan-Subang) on whether the government will propose a revenue-sharing formula for Sabah and Sarawak.

“In terms of [the government’s] fiscal position, the federal government is facing a very challenging situation because we inherited the financial scandals from the previous government.

“If there [were] no financial scandals as I mentioned, this would not be a big issue,” Guan Eng said.

“But whether we like it or not, we have to face the reality. We are faced with challenges, and we must strive to overcome them together — Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak,” he added.

Guan Eng said the cabinet agreed on Sept 5 to establish a special cabinet committee to review the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and to make recommendations to the federal government in relation to the implementation of the rights and autonomy of Sabah and Sarawak.

He said the special cabinet committee’s review on the Malaysia Agreement will be carried out through three stages, namely the steering committee, technical committee and working committee respectively, chaired by the prime minister and minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (law), and also comprising experts in the respective fields.

“The committee will give priority to the principle of fairness and equality to ensure that all parties are served with justice as provided for by the law of the country in order to uphold the rule of law in our country.

“The issue of inequality in physical and socio-economic development between states in Peninsular Malaysia compared with the states of Sabah and Sarawak would be given more serious emphasis. This will also help the federal government in developing a more holistic economic development plan, capable of narrowing the economic gaps among Malaysian states,” Guan Eng said.

“However, it should be emphasised that any proposals or formulas must be subject to the suitability of our financial position,” he added.

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