KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has submitted the letter of claim for the state's entitled 40 per cent net revenue, said state Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
He added that the federal government also acknowledged the letter, sent in 2022.
"We (Sabah government) did it when I was the second Finance Minister, if I'm not mistaken, on June 10, 2022.
"If not, the federal government would not have wanted to give the interim payment while waiting for the final settlement.
"That is also the reason why the technical committee (of the Malaysian Agreement 1963) was formed to specifically gather the data and statistics so that we can have the baseline of the 40 per cent (of net revenue)."
Masidi spoke to the media after a dinner with Selangor government officials at the Sabah International Convention Centre last night.
Yesterday, United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation president Datuk Ewon Benedick asked the Sabah government to submit a letter of demand to the federal government on the matter.
"I think what Datuk Ewon was implying is the specific amount (to be claimed), but it can only be obtained after we get all the data from the relevant agencies.
"(In fact), (the slow data collection) is the one that slightly hampers the negotiation effort because we had not got all the data."
When asked whether Ewon's proposed mechanism included an estimated amount of money to be claimed, Masidi said it was not so much about the mechanism as the formula had always been 40 per cent of Sabah revenue paid to the federal government.
"As far as I am concerned, the mechanism is not much of an issue. The issue is when to pay.
"We feel the timeline (to finalise the final amount) is this July because I think it should not be postponed; the time of implementation, once and for all, should be done."
"(However), there are options for us when the time comes (when no settlement can be made)."