ROYALTIES paid by Petronas to Sabah has increased by 60 folds over the last four decades.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman in his Ministry of Finance’s winding up speech yesterday said although the rate of the royalty given to Sabah had not been revised, the revenue given back to the State had continued to increase year by year.
“The royalty received by Sabah for the oil extracted from its waters was only RM15 million in 1976 and has increased to about RM900 million in the recent years,” he told the State Assembly sitting yesterday.
However, he said the state government wanted the benefits Sabah could derive from the oil and gas industry developed on its soil to not be limited to only royalties.
He stressed that projects such the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) and the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP) are capable of providing various employment opportunities and spillover effects that will serve as a catalyst for Sabah economic development.
Meanwhile, responding to suggestions from Klias and Bingkor for Sabah to be given zero Goods and Services Tax (GST), he said, the State leaders should be more realistic and accept the fact that the tax system has been implemented across the nation for over a year.
He said the 6% tax was approved by Parliament and enforced across the country since April 1, and Sabah, as a member state of the country, is not excluded from its implementation.
He reminded that it was the revenues collected through the GST that helped the country cope with the decrease in revenues from oil.
“And I believe a large sum from the GST collection has been channeled to Sabah through federal allocations, for carrying out development projects in the State,” he said.
On a separate issue, he said the state government would study the need to review the salary of elected representatives in accordance with its financial standing.
Pantai Manis assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rahim Ismail had proposed that the emoluments of the assemblymen be increased.