KOTA KINABALU: The judicial review application filed by the Sabah Law Society (SLS) over the state's revenue rights is a comprehensive solution to resolve the outstanding issues pertaining to the 40% entitlement owed to Sabah by Putrajaya.
SLS member Dr David Fung explained that their action was different from the originating summons previously filed by a group of politicians.
He said SLS also offered a list of remedies in their application to address the array of complex issues coming from the payment of the 40% net revenue to Sabah.
"Our remedies are such that they tackle head-on the various matters which arise from the promise of this 40% payment (to the State by the Federal Government)," he said in a press conference here on Friday (June 10).
"The assurances were made by the Federal Government of Malaysia and the State government would be the fiduciary for this.
"That's why we handled this action the way it is so that the party (Federal Government) would have to eventually pay but not just any amount. (It has to be) the amount that was promised which is 40%,” he said.
SLS president Roger Chin said one of the main remedies of their action was that it attempts to put in a formula to calculate and arrive at the actual valuation of the 40% entitlement.
"It's easy to say 40% (needs to be paid) under the Federal Constitution but what is the 40% essentially? Without further guidance, it is not an easy figure to even try to reach at, because we just don't know what the components of the net revenue are.
"So, if we succeed with this action, there will then be guidance for the Federal and State governments to finally know exactly how the calculation is to be done and how to arrive at the figure," he said.
Chin added that both governments could take the negotiations further with a clear formula on the table.
"They can then decide whether they want to increase or decrease the value but the starting point must be there. “So, this action, among other things, is hoping that a formula can be clearly stated," he said.
The SLS held the press conference to clear any confusion behind their judicial review application as well as to explain the difference between their action and the lawsuit filed by 12 Sabah Pakatan Harapan lawmakers previously.
SLS filed for the judicial review on Thursday (June 9) to, among others, overturn Putrajaya's gazettement of the annual grant for Sabah, saying it was not in line with the state's revenue rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
The judicial review application was filed at the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak by SLS lawyers Messrs J Marimuttu & Partners.
The suit comes after the Federal Government gazetted a special five-year annual grant of RM125.6mil for Sabah from this year on April 24.
On June 3, 12 Pakatan MPs and assemblymen filed a claim at the Kota Kinabalu High Court seeking a declaration on Sabah's entitlement to a 40% share of Federal revenue.
They are seeking, among others, a declaration that Sabah is entitled to 40% of revenue derived by the Federal Government from the state annually to be "respected and delivered" as stated in the Constitution.
According to Chin, SLS has the locus standi to file the action as it is a statutory body vested with necessary statutory powers and authority "to uphold the cause of justice without regard to its own interest or that of its members".
He said SLS had in the past several years become the voice of independent advice on legal issues and was not beholden to any political party.
"SLS' objective is to uphold the law without fear or favour and this is the reason why this action was passed unanimously by our members during our extraordinary general meeting in order to protect Sabah's 40% entitlement," he said, urging the public to support their action.
In addition to its statutory objectives, he said, SLS was obliged by virtue of the statutory provisions as set out under the Advocates Ordinance (Sabah Cap 2) to uphold and to ensure that the Federal Constitution was also upheld at all times.