Sabah should get at least 20% oil royalty – PKR

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KOTA KINABALU: The Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership in Sabah should ensure the state get at least 20 percent oil royalty from the federal government, said Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah chief Ahmad Thamrin Jaini.

He said the people of Sabah have requested for the increase in oil royalty many years ago but the federal government never showed any intention to meet the request until Pakatan Rakyat (PR) announced its “Buku Jingga”, which includes a promise to raise the oil royalty for Sabah to 20 percent.

“The Sabah BN is now in power; it is their responsibility to ensure we are getting more than what we get now.

“There is no more time to discuss this matter because it has been requested a long time ago. If they can’t handle, give Sabah to PR,” Thamrin said.

“The federal and state governments should have been sincere to the people by announcing the increase right after winning the general election, not now, when the next general election is around the corner,” he said.

Thamrin was commenting on the statement by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman that he believes the state’s five percent petroleum royalty review issue is open for amicable discussions with the federal government.

“We want the federal government to be transparent to the people about how much are they going to give, and we also want a clear proposal from the state leadership as to how much increase they request for,” Thamrin said.

“We can’t wait for the next election for them to announce something which will never be implemented. Everything is only an announcement and discussion,” he said.

Meanwhile, Puteri Umno Sabah chief Musliati Muslimin said the oil royalty issue has been discussed among the leaders of BN component parties in Sabah.

She said every request from the people is discussed by BN leaders, but the decision must come from the federal government.

“I agree with the request to increase the state’s five percent oil royalty, but the amount must be reasonable because we should be fair to the federal government who has been giving highest allocations to Sabah and Sarawak for development.

“We should share our resources with the other states in Malaysia, but this is the time to review the oil royalty for the sake of the people of Sabah,” she told reporters at her Hari Raya open house in Taman Flamingo yesterday.

Musliati said the request must be reasonable, not exceeding 50 percent because the amount is too much