SANDAKAN: N.50 Sungai Sibuga Assemblywoman, Lisa Hassan Alban, criticised remarks by Senator Anna Bell Perian, claiming that they were an attempt to defend the failure of the GRS government in the issue of Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement through political rhetoric and personal attacks.
According to her, the most important question that remains unanswered is where the most appropriate platform is to discuss the rights of the people of Sabah if not in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN).
Lisa said the government’s continued avoidance of open debate in the DUN only creates the perception that the government is afraid to confront Sabah’s constitutional rights issue directly.
In the statement, she also criticised the state government’s approach of accepting fixed sums such as the RM600 million interim payment and the RM3 billion target, instead of defending the original formula of 40% net federal revenue.
She said Sabah’s actual claim is a right based on a dynamic formula that grows alongside economic growth, rather than fixed amounts which she described as “random figures” dependent on the goodwill of the Federal Government.
She questioned why the GRS government was so afraid to demand calculations based on the original 40% formula, while raising concerns over whether political interests in Putrajaya were being prioritised over Sabah’s constitutional rights.
Lisa also defended the previous Warisan administration’s decision not to gazette the RM53.4 million amount in 2019.
According to her, the move was intended to prevent Sabah from being tied to a fixed amount for five years, which could undermine the original 40% claim.
She said it was only after Gazette 119/2022 was issued that judicial review proceedings were initiated by the Sabah Law Society (SLS), which she claimed demonstrated that the GRS government’s stance at the time contradicted efforts to defend the original 40% formula.
She alleged that the GRS government had been overly eager to celebrate “special grants” even though they were merely tactics to delay Sabah’s actual claim.
At the same time, Lisa described the GRS government’s position regarding the venue for debating the Sabah 40% issue as inconsistent.
According to her, Armizan Mohd Ali had previously stated that Parliament was not the appropriate platform to discuss the issue, while Senator Anna Bell Perian now claimed that the Sabah DUN was also unsuitable because it could allegedly disrupt technical and legal processes.
She said such reasoning insulted the role of legislative institutions because the DUN should serve as the platform to establish the people’s political mandate to the executive, rather than merely acting as a “rubber stamp” for closed-door decisions.
Lisa also questioned the rejection of motions related to Sabah’s 40% entitlement brought by Roger Chin and Chin Tek Ming, even though Roger Chin himself was appointed as the state’s legal adviser.
She said the situation showed that professional expertise was being used merely as a “political mask” when voices attempting to bring the issue into official channels were ultimately blocked.
In the same statement, Lisa also criticised the government’s frequent listing of various other claims supposedly resolved as proof of administrative success.
According to her, while progress in technical matters such as the Public Works Department (JKR) or gas issues was acknowledged, the Sabah 40% issue remained the core pillar of the state’s economic strength.
She said that without strong financial autonomy through the 40% formula, Sabah would continue to depend on the Federal Government for basic state development.
In this regard, Lisa urged the GRS leadership to stop hiding behind the institution of the Speaker of the DUN and to stop attacking past administrative records merely to cover current weaknesses.
She said the people of Sabah today are becoming more politically mature and are no longer easily influenced by announcements of temporary “interim bonuses” while the state’s constitutional rights are allegedly being eroded gradually.
She stressed that diplomacy should not be used as an excuse to remain submissive, and that the state government must restore open and transparent debate on Sabah’s 40% claim in the State Legislative Assembly.
