Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) expresses deep concern over the recent remarks by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs), Datuk Ts Mustapha Sakmud, who highlighted the billions spent by the Federal Government on petrol and diesel subsidies as evidence of Putrajaya’s commitment to protecting Malaysians from rising global oil prices.
BoPiMaFo believes that such statements risk creating a misleading impression — particularly among the people of Sabah and Sarawak — that the Federation is generously financing fuel subsidies for the benefit of Borneo.
This narrative ignores a fundamental economic reality.
A significant portion of Malaysia’s petroleum wealth originates from Sabah and Sarawak.
For decades, oil and gas extracted from the territories and waters of Borneo have generated enormous revenue for the Federal Government and played a major role in sustaining Malaysia’s national finances.
These resources have helped fund national development, federal expenditure, and indeed the very subsidies now being presented as evidence of federal generosity.
It is therefore misleading to frame fuel subsidies as though Sabah and Sarawak are beneficiaries of federal charity.
In reality, Borneo helps finance the very system that is now being portrayed as federal benevolence.
The people of Sabah and Sarawak should not be made to feel indebted for subsidies that are, in part, funded by the resources taken from their own land and seas.
More importantly, the discussion about subsidies cannot be separated from the larger constitutional issues that continue to affect Sabah.
Under Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution, Sabah is entitled to 40% of the net federal revenue derived from the state. This fiscal safeguard formed part of the constitutional arrangements designed to protect Sabah’s financial position when Malaysia was formed in 1963.
Yet for decades this constitutional mechanism was not properly implemented.
At the same time, the petroleum wealth generated from Sabah and Sarawak has continued to flow steadily into the national treasury.
Against this background, statements implying that Sabah and Sarawak should be grateful for federal subsidies are understandably viewed by many as politically tone-deaf.
The people of Borneo are not asking for charity.
They are asking for fairness, respect for the Constitution, and recognition of the contributions that Sabah and Sarawak have made to Malaysia’s economic development for more than six decades.
Sabah and Sarawak are not peripheral territories dependent on federal generosity. They are founding partners of Malaysia whose natural resources have played a central role in sustaining the nation’s energy system and economic growth.
A Minister entrusted with Sabah and Sarawak affairs should therefore remind the nation of this reality.
Instead of reinforcing narratives that portray Borneo as dependent on federal subsidies, the focus should be on ensuring that Sabah and Sarawak receive the fair and constitutional share of the wealth generated from their own resources.
This is precisely why the ongoing struggle over Sabah’s constitutional entitlement to 40% of the net federal revenue derived from the state remains so important. Until this constitutional safeguard is fully honoured, claims of federal generosity toward Sabah will continue to ring hollow to many who know that Borneo’s wealth has long sustained the Federation while its rightful fiscal protections remain unresolved.
Until the deeper structural issues of revenue justice, constitutional compliance, and equitable federal–state relations are properly addressed, statements about subsidies will continue to ring hollow to many Sabahans and Sarawakians.
The people of Borneo do not seek special treatment. They seek only the honouring of the constitutional safeguards and assurances that formed part of the foundation upon which Malaysia was built.
A Minister responsible for Sabah and Sarawak should first understand the realities of Borneo before making statements that portray its people as dependent on federal generosity.
Borneo does not live on Malaysia’s generosity — Malaysia lives in large part on Borneo’s wealth.
Daniel John Jambun
Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)