KOTA KINABALU: The federal government today agreed to increase the interim special grant for Sabah and Sarawak from RM300 million to RM600 million starting next year, according to 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 which lasted over two hours here today.
The meeting was also attended by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Fadillah, who is also the MTPMA63 Technical Committee chairman, said although the interim special grant is due to be reviewed every five years, the Prime Minister, however, 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 2025 Budget (next month), but the Prime Minister just announced it at the meeting today,” he told reporters after the meeting at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here.
Fadillah said the formula for the distribution of the special grant to Sabah and Sarawak, however, has yet to be finalised as it would be up to the two states to decide.
The Deputy Prime Minister also said that there were four issues that could not be resolved at today’s meeting, namely pertaining to 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 that were listed in the ‘Agree to Disagree’ category would be deliberated at the highest level between the Prime Minister, Sabah Chief Minister and Sarawak Premier later.
“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 continue to be discussed and monitored through other negotiation platforms, namely the Technical Committee under MTPMA63, to ensure that these outstanding demands are addressed appropriately,” he added.
Also present at the meeting were the three Sabah Deputy Chief Ministers, namely Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam and Datuk Shahelmey Yahya; and the three Sarawak Deputy Premiers - Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, and Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
