PRESS STATEMENT: The 40% Entitlement: A Constitutional Imperative, Not a Discretionary Exercise - Chen Ket Chuin
I express my unequivocal support for the motion tabled by ADUN Kapayan, YB Chin Tek Ming, which seeks to compel the State Government to ascertain, quantify, and formally claim Sabah’s entitlement to 40% of the net revenue derived by the Federation from Sabah, for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and on a continuing basis thereafter.
From a legal standpoint, this is neither novel nor contentious. It is a matter of constitutional compliance.
The Federal Constitution, read together with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the relevant fiscal arrangements, imposes a clear and continuing obligation on the Federation. The 40% entitlement is not aspirational, nor is it subject to administrative convenience. It is a justiciable right grounded in law, enforceable in principle, and incapable of being extinguished by delay, omission, or political expediency.
Accordingly, the motion is properly framed. It does not seek to renegotiate rights; it seeks to operationalise and give effect to an existing constitutional guarantee.
Three critical legal duties arise:
* First, the duty to compute — the State must undertake a proper, evidence-based determination of the net revenue derived from Sabah, consistent with constitutional intent and fiscal transparency;
* Second, the duty of disclosure — such computation must be tabled and subjected to scrutiny, in keeping with principles of accountability and good governance;
* Third, the duty to assert and enforce — the State cannot remain passive. It must advance a formal claim and, if necessary, pursue appropriate legal and constitutional remedies to secure compliance.
Any failure to act in accordance with these duties raises serious questions of dereliction of constitutional responsibility.
It must be emphasised that constitutional rights do not lapse through inaction. Nor can they be diluted through informal arrangements, opaque formulas, or executive discretion. Any attempt to substitute the 40% entitlement with a lesser arrangement, absent proper constitutional basis, would be legally untenable and susceptible to challenge.
The present motion, therefore, is not merely procedurally appropriate — it is legally necessary.
Inaction, delay, or refusal to support this motion may reasonably be construed as an abdication of the State’s fiduciary obligation to the people of Sabah.
The law is clear. The obligation exists. The only question that remains is whether there is the institutional will to uphold it.
Support this motion. Give effect to the Constitution.
