State Reform Party of Sabah (Star Sabah) chief Jeffrey Kitingan has challenged Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan’s claim that the federal government allocated RM22.1 billion to Sabah for the 2012-2013 period but collected only RM8.3 billion in revenue.

“It is sad the federal minister representing Kota Belud (Sabah) is still caught in a time warp and living in the past trying to hoodwink Sabahans with distortions and half-truths on revenues collected from and federal allocations for Sabah,” Jeffrey in response to Rahman’s statement.

“The minister is wrong to treat Sabahans as ignorant fools who do not understand the trickery of the federal government, with the minister himself distorting on the revenues from and federal allocations for Sabah.

“In presenting half-truths and undisclosed figures, Rahman has made a fool of himself to Sabahans present at the recent forum at a leading hotel in Kota Kinabalu.  

“At the same time, he has made the federal government to look bad and evil,” he said.

Jeffrey ( left ) said: “In understating the revenue at RM8.3 billion, Rahman has failed to disclose that it did not include revenue from companies not based in Sabah, such as plantation companies and oil companies that earn tens of billions of ringgit each year from Sabah.  

“At the same time, he forgot to include that Sabah contributed RM36.48 billion in oil revenue for 2012-13, with another RM26.6 billion collectible for 2014.

“The minister also lied to the people in not stating that from the revenues collected from Sabah, the federal government was required to give back 40 percent under the 10th Schedule of the Federal Constitution.

“Even assuming only RM8.3 billion was collected, Sabah is entitled to receive RM3.32 billion.

“On the other hand, when the minister tried to show that it was generous in spending RM22.1 billion for Sabah, it clearly backfired.

“The federal government did not spend it on Sabah, certainly not for development as the minister tried to infer.

“It went to finance the salaries, wages and operational costs of the parallel Sabah government comprising federal ministries, departments and agencies, as a neo-colonial mechanism to control Sabah.”

Jeffrey added that Rahman should have also realised that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced in Budget 2014 that Sabah and Sarawak would receive a development budget of only RM2.3 billion out of the total RM40 billion budget.