KOTA KINABALU, Dec 4 — Deputy Chief Minister II Datuk Ewon Benedick has pushed back against accusations that he “scammed” Sabah voters by joining the state Cabinet alongside national parties after resigning from the federal Cabinet and campaigning on a “Sabah First” message.
Ewon, who is also the state industrial, entrepreneurship and transport minister, said his “Sabah First” slogan has always centred on pursuing Sabah’s constitutional rights — particularly the long-disputed 40 per cent revenue entitlement — and that the current unity government provides the best platform to advance those goals.
He said critics were overlooking a key fact: the new state administration is now overwhelmingly led by local parties, giving Sabah far more leverage to negotiate with Putrajaya than previous arrangements.
“We must understand that the current government consists of majority local parties. Only two ministers are from non-local parties.
“We are the majority in decision-making, that is extremely important. And this is much better than the previous government in terms of composition,” he said during his first ministerial event today.
“I leave it to you to interpret, but my ‘Sabah First’ stance is about pursuing the 40 per cent and Sabah’s rights.
“The government has already been formed, and the chief minister has exercised his wisdom. It is now a unity government, and I want to move forward.”
Ewon, who served as federal entrepreneurial development and cooperatives minister until resigning last month, said his time in Putrajaya gave him insight into how federal agencies and ministries view devolution and Sabah’s entitlements.
“Having served in the federal government, I understand how they see this 40 per cent,” he said.
“I believe the past three years’ experience will help the Sabah government negotiate firmly with the federal government.”
He stressed that pursuing Sabah’s rights is a constitutional duty, not a political slogan.
“It should be — and must be — the responsibility of all Sabahans and all Sabah leaders,” he said.
“Now that I’m with the state government, I will continue to pursue that.”
Ewon added that he would work closely with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to push forward on state rights issues, saying he is “more than ready” to support the effort.
When pressed again on whether joining a unity government contradicted his campaign messaging, Ewon closed the door on revisiting campaign-period arguments.
“Let’s leave today’s matters here. I don’t want to go into that, what matters is my leadership for the next five years,” he said.
Ewon’s comments mark his first detailed response to critics who accused him of reneging on his “Sabah First” stance by joining a Cabinet that includes federal parties Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional after previously criticising their approach to state rights.
