Sabah’s 40pc revenue rights appeal: Court of Appeal to decide on Nov 12

KOTA KINABALU, Oct 29 — The Court of Appeal will determine on November 12 when it will deliver its ruling on the federal government’s appeal against parts of a High Court decision on Sabah’s 40 per cent net revenue entitlement for 1974 to 2021.

The three-judge panel comprising Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid and Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh fixed the date for e-Review case management after hearing submissions from the federal government, the Sabah Law Society (SLS) and the Sabah government today.

The panel said it needed more time to consider the submissions before delivering its decision.

The federal government is challenging parts of the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruling, including findings that both the federal and Sabah governments had abused their powers and breached their constitutional responsibilities.

However, SLS said the federal government’s notice of appeal did not challenge the 40 per cent constitutional formula or the need for a review under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution. Its appeal nevertheless challenges findings and orders concerning the “Lost Years”, the review process, the relief granted and the High Court’s jurisdiction.

During the hearing, Senior Federal Counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi argued that the High Court had erred in finding that the federal government breached its constitutional duties and in issuing an order compelling a review of Sabah’s special grant.

The federal government maintained that the 1970 First Review Order remained legally in force until it was superseded by a 2022 Review Order, relying on Article 112D(3) of the Federal Constitution. It contended that payments made to Sabah between 1974 and 2021 were constitutional and challenged the High Court’s jurisdiction to hear the case.

Representing SLS, lawyer David Fung Yin Kee argued that no constitutional review had been conducted between 1974 and 2021, as required under Article 112D. He said correspondence and meetings between the two governments did not constitute a formal review under the Constitution.

Fung also defended SLS’s right to bring the judicial review in the public interest, arguing that the courts could intervene where constitutional obligations had not been fulfilled.

The Sabah government broadly supported the High Court’s finding that no review had been conducted since the first review in 1969. However, it opposed quashing the interim review arrangements for 2022, 2023 and 2024, arguing that they should remain in force while the constitutional issues are resolved.

On October 17 last year, High Court judge Datuk Celestina Stuel Galid allowed a judicial review application by SLS and ordered the federal government to review Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement with the state government for the financial years from 1974 to 2021, a period known as the “Lost Years”.

The court ordered the review to be completed within 90 days and the two governments to reach an agreement within 180 days.

The federal government subsequently obtained a stay of the order from the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya on April 6, pending its appeal.

The federal government was represented by Senior Federal Counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi and Nurhafizza Azizan, together with Azza Azmi, Safiyyah Omar and Nur Atirah Aiman Rahim.

SLS was represented by David Fung Yin Kee, Jeyan T.M. Marimuttu, Janice Junie Lim, Liew Yung Enn and Vanessa Maria Marimuttu.

The Sabah government was represented by State Attorney-General Datuk Brenndon Keith Soh, Senior State Counsel Mohd Saifurrazee Mohamed @ Hussin and Devina Teo, and State Counsel Roland Alik.

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哥打基纳巴卢，10 月 29 日讯——上诉法院将于 11 月 12 日决定何时就联邦政府对高等法院关于沙巴 1974 年至 2021 年 40% 净收入权利的部分裁决提出的上诉作出裁决。

由拿督阿扎哈里·卡迈勒·拉姆利、拿督艾哈迈德·卡迈勒·莫哈末·沙希德和拿督阿玛吉特·辛格·塞尔吉特·辛格组​​成的三名法官小组，在今天听取了联邦政府、沙巴律师协会（SLS）和沙巴州政府的陈述后，确定了电子审查案件管理的日期。

委员会表示，需要更多时间来审议​​提交的材料，然后再做出决定。

联邦政府对哥打基纳巴卢高等法院的部分裁决提出质疑，其中包括联邦政府和沙巴州政府滥用职权和违反宪法责任的认定。

然而，SLS表示，联邦政府的上诉通知并未质疑40%的宪法公式，也未质疑根据联邦宪法第112D条进行审查的必要性。但其上诉质疑的是关于“失落的岁月”的调查结果和命令、审查程序、已授予的救济以及高等法院的管辖权。

在听证会上，联邦高级律师艾哈迈德·哈尼尔·汉巴利（又名阿维）辩称，高等法院认定联邦政府违反了其宪法职责，并下令强制审查沙巴州的特别拨款，这是错误的。

联邦政府坚持认为，1970年的第一次审查令在被2022年的审查令取代之前仍然有效，其依据是联邦宪法第112D(3)条。联邦政府辩称，1974年至2021年间支付给沙巴的款项符合宪法，并对高等法院审理此案的管辖权提出质疑。

代表新加坡法律协会的律师冯彦基辩称，1974年至2021年间并未按照宪法第112D条的规定进行宪法审查。他表示，两国政府之间的信函往来和会晤并不构成宪法规定的正式审查。

冯还为新加坡法律协会（SLS）提起司法审查以维护公共利益的权利辩护，认为在宪法义务未得到履行的情况下，法院可以进行干预。

沙巴州政府总体上支持高等法院的裁决，即自 1969 年首次审查以来，一直没有进行过审查。然而，它反对取消 2022 年、2023 年和 2024 年的临时审查安排，认为在宪法问题得到解决之前，这些安排应该继续有效。

去年 10 月 17 日，高等法院法官拿督塞莱斯蒂娜·斯图尔·加利德批准了沙巴州法律协会 (SLS) 的司法审查申请，并命令联邦政府审查沙巴州政府在 1974 年至 2021 年财政年度（被称为“失落的岁月”）期间 40% 的收入权利。

法院命令审查工作在 90 天内完成，两国政府在 180 天内达成协议。

联邦政府随后于 4 月 6 日从布城上诉法院获得暂缓执行该命令的许可，等待上诉结果。

联邦政府由高级联邦法律顾问 Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi 和 Nurhafizza Azizan 以及 Azza Azmi、Safiyyah Omar 和 Nur Atirah Aiman Rahim 代表。

SLS 的代表包括 David Fung Yin Kee、Jeyan TM Marimuttu、Janice Junie Lim、Liew Yung Enn 和 Vanessa Maria Marimuttu。

沙巴州政府由州检察长拿督布伦登·基思·索、高级州律师莫哈末·赛弗拉齐·穆罕默德（又名侯赛因）和德维娜·张以及州律师罗兰·阿里克代表出庭。

IWK怀疑巴彦巴鲁地面塌陷是由一条使用了30年的管道接头脱位造成的，维修工作将于11月7日进行。

马来西亚与沙特阿拉伯站在一起，谴责胡塞武装的袭击，哈立德·诺丁表示。

马来西亚副部长称，40个国家有马来西亚人因涉毒被捕。