Federal allocations to states guided by Constitution, says Pasir Gudang MP

JOHOR BAHRU, June 21 — The Madani Government is guided by written laws and the Federal Constitution in matters involving financial allocations to states, including Johor, said Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim.

In a statement, he said Article 109(1) of the Federal Constitution provides that the Federal Government shall, for every financial year, grant each state a capitation allocation in accordance with the provisions of Part I of the Tenth Schedule.

Hassan, who is also a lawyer, said Article 110(1) further stipulates that states are entitled to revenue derived from taxes, fees and other sources of income as set out in Part III of the Tenth Schedule.

“If any state government is dissatisfied, the matter can be raised through the National Finance Council, which the Federal Government is required to consult on allocations and grants to the states under Article 108(4) of the Federal Constitution,” he said.

As such, he said any Johor state government formed after the Johor state election on July 11 may refer issues concerning Federal Government allocations to the National Finance Council in accordance with existing legal provisions.

During a session with the people of Johor yesterday, the Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail, called on the Federal Government to return a more reasonable share of the revenue collected from the state to enable development and welfare programmes to be implemented more effectively.

His Royal Highness said Johor contributes more than RM40 billion annually to the Federal Government, yet only about RM2 billion to RM3 billion is returned to the state to meet the needs of its nearly five million residents. — Bernama