Partial Appeal May Risk Entire High Court Ruling on Sabah’s 40% Entitlement, Says UPKO Secretary-General

11 November 2025

KOTA KINABALU: United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) Secretary-General Datuk Nelson W. Angang has cautioned that the Federal Government’s decision to file a partial appeal against the High Court’s judgment on Sabah’s 40 per cent entitlement could have wider legal consequences.

He noted that while the Federal Attorney General (AG) stated the Government will only appeal certain parts of the judgment that are said to contain flaws, the very act of filing an appeal means that a notice of appeal will still be lodged.

“Even though the Attorney General has indicated that the appeal is limited to certain aspects of the judgment, the appellate court’s eventual findings could have a far-reaching effect,” said Nelson.

He explained that if the appellate court agrees with the Federal AG’s arguments that the High Court judge erred in certain findings, it is possible that the entire judgment could be deemed affected, as the reasoning and conclusions of the High Court are interconnected and form part of a single, integrated decision.

“In such a scenario, even though the Federal Government now claims to respect Sabah’s 40 per cent constitutional right, the appellate court could find that the entire High Court judgment is unsafe and set it aside in its entirety,” he cautioned.

“This would effectively nullify the High Court’s finding that Sabah is constitutionally entitled to the 40 per cent revenue entitlement,” Nelson added.