PUTRAJAYA, Jan 4 — The provision of special grants to Sabah and Sarawak according to Article 112D of the Federal Constitution should be reviewed once every five years so that the amount allocated will be more reasonable, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
In fact, he said, the Federal Government would also ensure that there will be a reasonable increase in the amount of the grants and that it would remain separate from the capitation grant or the Malaysian Road Records Information System (MARRIS) grant.
“In the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), there was a mention of Article 112D about reasonable grants to be provided to Sarawak and Sabah, starting with RM16 million and RM26 million, respectively, which should be reviewed once every five years, but this did not happen,” he told a press conference after chairing the Cabinet meeting here today.
As such, Anwar said the Federal Government will revive the review of the grants and that he hoped the matter would be finalised during his meeting with Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor in Kuching at the end of this month.
