He said today that the push by Sabahans for a share of its net tax revenue had nothing to do with the amount but with what was stipulated in the Federal Constitution.

“Does the federal government agree with the formula?” he said. “If they do agree, then they should sit down and work out a mechanism of calculating the amount.”

Salleh, who is assemblyman for Usukan, said Sabahans merely want Putrajaya to honour its constitutional rights.

His comment was made in response to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks on Friday that the RM16 billion federal allocation for Sabah this year exceeded the state’s claim for its share of net federal revenue.

Under the constitution, Sabah and Sarawak are entitled to a special yearly federal grant, which may be reviewed at the request of the federal or state governments, For Sabah, the constitution sets a grant equivalent to 40% of the amount higher than the net revenue obtained in 1963.

On Thursday, Sabah deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan said the state will produce its own computation, having already asked Putrajaya eight times to provide the necessary data.

Kitingan said the state and federal governments have yet to reach a resolution on the matter, with the one-year deadline to resolve outstanding issues under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 drawing near.

Earlier this month, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof told FMT that the finance ministry is now working on a formula for special grant payments, in collaboration with the governments of Sarawak and Sabah.

He said Anwar was determined to resolve the issue and had suggested allocating RM300 million as an interim measure while the long-term formula is being worked out.