The Kota Kinabalu High Court has ruled that the federal government acted unlawfully and beyond its constitutional powers by failing to honour Sabah’s 40 percent share of federal revenue for nearly five decades.

Judge Celestina Stuel Galid, delivering her decision in open court, declared that the special grant arrangements made by both the federal and state governments were “unlawful, ultra vires, and irrational,” breaching the Federal Constitution.