PENAMPANG: Umno Penampang chief Datuk John Ambrose has called on all Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties in Sabah to be united in requesting for an increase in the oil and gas royalty paid to the state.
John was of the opinion that Sabah must emulate Sarawak in their unity and hard work with regards to requesting that the federal government increase its oil and gas royalty.
“All the BN component parties must do this for the benefit of Sabah and its people… this is not only the concern of Umno or Upko but all the BN component parties in Sabah. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is a just man, I know him and I know he will be understanding,” John said.
However, he stressed that the request must be reasonable and result in a win-win situation for everyone.
John who was met after officiating Kampung Limbanak’s Kaamatan celebration yesterday, said this when asked to comment about the calls by BN component parties in Sabah for the State Government to also request the Federal Government to increase the oil and gas royalty paid to Sabah.
According to the Penampang Parliament Rural Development Council chairman, if the federal government turns down the request then the State Government can request for other allocations.
“Whatever the decision, it is more important that Sabah gets more allocation,” he stressed.
Commenting on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman’s statement on the oil royalty, John was of the opinion that Umno must give their undivided support to Musa on whatever decision is made on the matter.
The Chief Minister said after chairing the Sabah Umno meeting here on Friday that Sabah will continue with its own approach in discussing issues on oil royalty with the Federal Government.
He said Sabah has been continuously engaging the federal government on the matter since 2008, although such discussions took place behind closed door and not revealed to the media.
“Every state has their ways of doing things, and we have our own. We have been asking (for the review) using our own way, through certain readily available channels.
“We are not following Sarawak, in fact, we are the first to brought the matter up,” he said when asked to comment on the more aggressive approach by Sarawak in demanding for an increased royalty.
John also said he had requested all the Village Development and Security Committee and the mini bus association president to send their reports to him regarding roads that need repairs in their villages in Penampang.
“The reports must be in by July so that I can submit them to the relevant ministries for further action,” he said, adding that the reports must be accompanied by photographs.
Assessment of the damages and cost of repairs will be carried out by the district officer once the reports are received, he said.