KOTA KINABALU: The federal government today agreed to increase the interim special grant for Sabah and Sarawak from RM300 million to RM600 million starting next year, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
He said this was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63) meeting which lasted over two hours here today.
The meeting was also attended by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Fadillah, who is also the MTPMA63 Technical Committee chairman, said although the interim special grant is due to be reviewed every five years, the Prime Minister, however, decided to increase it sooner.
"Last year, he announced RM300 million for each state, and (at the meeting) today, he decided to increase the interim special grant from RM300 million to RM600 million each for Sabah and Sarawak.
"This will begin in 2025. It was supposed to be announced during the tabling of the 2025 Budget (next month), but the Prime Minister just announced it at the meeting today," he told reporters after the meeting at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here.