KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 29): The payment of the 2023 special grants at the new rate of RM300 million to the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak has been completed.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in a statement that the implementation of the revision of the special grant rate through an interim settlement was gazetted on Nov 24.

He said the federal government, alongside the Sabah and Sarawak state governments, have reached an agreement to review the amount of special grants under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution effective 2023, as an interim solution and on the process of finalising the special grant review formula for the long term.

This interim solution was decided in the meeting of the Action Council for the Implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MTP-MA63), which took place on Jan 20, 2023 and was presented in Budget 2024.

This interim rate is an increase to the RM16 million per year for Sarawak since 1969, and RM125.6 million for Sabah for the year 2022, through an interim review that was implemented for Sabah in 2022.

The federal government,alongside the Sabah and Sarawak state governments, “are committed to continue consultation and carry out a review of the special grant rate under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution, to finalise the formula for determining the grant rate which has been provided under Article 112C of the Federal Constitution,” the statement said.