LAWAS: Petronas is committed to settling negotiations on sales tax owed to Sarawak and the state’s greater participation in the oil and gas industry through commercial negotiations, says Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
When commenting on the first meeting held between the state government and Petronas last week, he said it outlined the purpose and mechanism to mete out the details.
“In this first meeting, Petronas has affirmed their commitment in settling through commercial negotiations and without going through the legal process,” he said.
Awang Tengah added that future meetings would be rotated between Kuching and Kuala Lumpur.
“If there are any legal issues, the consultative committee will look into it,” he said.
Last week, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg announced that Awang Tengah would head the commercial negotiations of the outstanding sales tax and related aspects with Petronas.
The negotiating team members would include Assistant Minister of Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, State Attorney General Datu Talat Mahmood Abdul Rashid, State Legal Counsel Dato Sri JC Fong, Economic Planning Unit (EPU) director Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel, and Petros chief executive officer Datuk Saau Kakok.
The consultative committee — led by Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah — was appointed by the State Legislative Assembly’s state consultative committee to tackle legal issues.
Meanwhile, Awang Tengah said he was happy with the progress of the development projects in Limbang and Lawas, despite the delays caused by Movement Control Order restrictions.
Except for the delayed Kampung Serdang Surau project, the progress of other projects should be on track with the respective catch-up plans, he added.