<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2822201" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/56027dd0-ewon-benedick-resize-fmt-250724.webp" alt="Ewon Benedick" width="1600" height="1000" />
From Jeffri Saling
The announcement has been made that Putrajaya will not appeal against the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s ruling affirming Sabah’s entitlement to a 40% share of federal revenue collected from the state.
Surely this leaves Upko president Ewon Benedick with egg on his face!
Just two days ago he quit in a theatrical gesture and cited what he described as the Attorney-General&#8217;s Chambers’s (AGC) disregard for Sabah&#8217;s constitutional right to 40% of federal revenue derived from the state.
“I cannot agree with the position and interpretation taken by the AGC, who serves as the legal adviser to the prime minister and the federal government,” he had said.
Well, what does Ewon have to say now? It is clear that he jumped the gun in a bid to push Upko ahead of the other Kadazan parties like Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM).
The AGC has said the federal government respects the constitutional principle of the “special grant” under Article 112C of the Federal Constitution and has agreed to proceed with negotiations with the Sabah government immediately.
If Ewon had stayed, he could have played a critical role in those negotiations, but now he will just join the critics like James Chin and Bridget Welsh who only want to gripe from the sidelines.
The fact that the decision was made during a special Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim shows that this government is the most sincere of all when it comes to returning their rights to Sabahans.
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!
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Jeffri Saling is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

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