Shafie (left) being briefed by Iain (right) and Prithipal during his visit to Shell Sabah office.
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Government will continue to fight for the 20 percent oil and gas royalty from the Federal government as this was the promise of the Warisan government in its manifesto during the last election.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Shafie Haji Apdal, said that the 20 percent royalty is not that big an amount considering the profits that the federal government has accrued all these while.
“The State government will continue to seek out best ways to obtain the royalty,” he said.
He also said the 2020 budget will be tabled next month and that he hoped what has been discussed in relation to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the oil and gas royalty can be realised.
Speaking to reporters after visiting Shell Sabah office here yesterday, Shafie said Sabah is one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the country.
He said the Sabah government is aware of the financial setback of the federal government presently.
“But the Sabah government also needs the money to develop the state,” he said, adding that Sabah is far behind other states in terms of infrastructure.
He reiterated that it is the hope of the government here to ensure the oil and gas sector in Sabah is sustainable and that it can create job opportunities and encourage the arrival of investors to Sabah.
He sai the Sabah government wants to benefit from the huge production in the oil and gas industry.
Shafie, who is also Finance Minister, said that the issue has been repeatedly brought up since prior the last general election right up to the present time.
“The people know how much production is attained from the oil and gas industry from Sabah but the income derived is not as much,” he said.
He added that following the discussion with the Federal Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, he hoped that all these issues will materialize.
On his visit to the Shell Sabah office, Shafie explained that the State government hopes to create a win-win cooperation situation for both parties.
He said it is important for the state government to realise that cooperation with Shell and with other oil and gas players in Sabah will benefit all parties.
He also said that a huge chunk of Sabah’s income is derived from the oil and gas sector.
Also present were Shell Malaysia manager, Datuk Iain Lo, and Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd general manager, Prithipal Singh.