SABAH and Sarawak will have to wait before receiving annual revenue entitlements and oil royalties, as Putrajaya is still sorting out government finances, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“The country is saddled with a RM1 trillion debt and we have to settle the debts or go bust,” he told the media after a lunch with Sabah Bersatu members in Tanjung Aru.

“If we don’t pay (the debts), we will become bankrupt.

“So, most of revenue collection is being used to settle debts created by former prime minister Najib Razak.”

He said Putrajaya had to spend prudently and in accordance with priorities.

“There will be more money allocated if the priorities are high and less if low.”

Pakatan Harapan in its election manifesto last year promised the return of state rights to Sabah and Sarawak as per the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Such rights include 60:40 revenue entitlement for Sabah and raising oil royalties from 5% to 20%, similarly as stated in the federal constitution.

Putrajaya has since formed a federal-level committee to relook the terms of MA63.

Last month, the prime minister’s office had agreed to resolve seven issues raised by the committee.

This included giving Sabah the authority to manage Ligitan and Sipadan islands.

Little headway has been made to revenue entitlements and oil royalties.

When asked about the lack of “goodies” for Sabah and Sarawak in conjunction with Malaysia Day yesterday, Dr Mahathir said the handing out of “goodies” should come with all the others to ensure there no big disparities among the states.

“Now, Sabah and Sarawak are much richer than any of the states in the peninsular.

“Sabah and Sarawak have a lot of land. We want to renew our policies on agriculture.

“Modern agriculture that can ensure the people in the rural areas can become rich.”

He added that Sabah is not the poorest state in the country, but Kedah and Perlis are.

Dr Mahathir said Sabah would be the richest state once its deep sea oil wells yield products.

Earlier, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng at a budget dialogue in Kota Kinabalu reiterated Putrajaya’s commitment to see that Sabah and Sarawak receive their revenue rights.

However, he said the federal government does not have the fiscal capacity to do so at present. – September 17, 2019.