SABAH will collect taxes from the extraction of minerals from its seabed and subsoil, following amendments to the Land Ordinance (Cap 68).

With the amendments, the state’s territorial ownership is extended right up to the continental shelf.

Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal last night confirmed that the state government is looking at ways to impose taxes on the resources.

The state assembly yesterday approved an amendment to Section 4 of the Land Ordinance, to refine the definition of “land” and pave the way for the state government to claim rights over natural revenue tax.

“We amended the law because we want clarity in terms of the state’s rights. The ordinance is one of the areas where we need clarity,” Shafie told reporters after attending a dinner organised by de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong.

He said the Land Ordinance is not the only law that Sabah will revise and amend, adding that some state laws date back to the 1950s.

“I think it is time for us to review some of these laws. Whatever laws that need to be repealed, we will repeal.” – November 17, 2018.