KOTA KINABALU, Friday, 25 July 2025:
When the issue of Sabah’s 40% entitlement is raised, the federal government’s reply remains unchanged: no money. Yet it has just announced a RM2.2 billion handout of RM100 per adult citizen nationwide, bypassing the parliamentary budget process. Hundreds of millions of subsidies for road tolls are also allocated for Peninsular highways.
Only about RM0.2 billion of that will reach Sabah, based on the number of eligible adult citizens in the state.
Sabah’s rightful 40% share, in contrast, amounts to at least RM3 billion annually in net tax revenue.
The Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) and the Customs Department together collect nearly RM8 billion from Sabah each year, not including what is contributed by Petronas, banks, listed companies, and plantations operating in Sabah but taxed in Kuala Lumpur or other states in Peninsular Malaysia where their headquarters are based.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Yayasan Sabah channelled “timber money” directly to the people, often in amounts exceeding RM100 when adjusted for the stronger M$ value of that era.
The 40% entitlement is based solely on revenue collected within Sabah, requiring not a single cent from the federal government’s own coffers.
Sabah’s wealth has always been enough to uplift its people, if only returned and managed at home.
Chin Vui Kai
Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Information Chief