Referring to news reports of remarks Anifah made recently about the return of those rights, Zainnal said: “What does he mean by the term ‘Sabah rights’ and how does he see the federal government fulfilling its promise to return these rights?
“For all we know, Anifah may be thinking it is just a matter of Putrajaya returning to Sabah 40% of the net revenue it has collected in the state. That is all he seems to talk about.
“Does he know about the other rights under MA63? I doubt it.”
Zainnal claims to have done deep research on MA63 and has published books dealing with it. He said the agreement specified 53 state rights.
“If Putrajaya is serious about returning the rights not only of Sabah but also of Sarawak, then it should look at the list of more than 50 breaches that I have compiled,” he said.
“It is welcomed to decide which right it wants to return first. If it wants to start with the 40%, good. But don’t stop there. Sabah’s rights are more than that. We want the rights to our oil and gas, for example.”
On Saturday, local dailies quoted Anifah as saying that he considered Prime Minister Najib Razak to be a “man of his word” who would honour his promise to restore the rights guaranteed for Sabah in MA63.
Zainnal said he didn’t believe Najib would do so.
“He’ll never do it. He might give RM1 billion just to appease Sabahans and say, ‘Here’s the 40%.’ But he will not do it according to the letter of the Federal Constitution.”
He said Anifah’s threat to quit was “nothing but hot air” because he probably expected Putrajaya to give Sabah RM1 billion “even though he knows too well that 40% is more than RM1 billion”.
Warisan dismisses Anifah’s promise to quit Umno if MA63 pledge not met
Pakatan Harapan selling false hope in Sabah, says MA63 activist