By Melanie Chia
The recent noises made by the leaders in Barisan Nasional (BN) Sabah over the call to increase the 5% oil royalty paid to Sabah are responses that showed that BN is desperate to maintain its fixed deposit status in Sabah!
Melanie Chia Chui Ket, the Luyang State Assemblywoman, made this comment in the light of the recent blandishments over the utterances by the BN leaders over the subject of oil royalty paid to Sabah.
The Sabah State Government under the leadership of Musa Aman had repeatedly over the last few years said that it was not necessary to review the 5% cash payment made to Sabah for giving away our ownership of our oil and gas resources to Petronas because the Federal Government is already giving Sabah billions of ringgit of allocations because of the good relationship with Federal. This was always the answer given by the Chief Minister in the State Assembly when the subject was raised by Melanie.
A motion asking the UMNO-led BN state government to demand increased payment of the petroleum royalty to Sabah submitted by Melanie in August 2011 was rejected by the State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Panglima Salleh Said Keruak. The rejection of the motion then was construed as cowardice and the BN Government in failing to protect the rights and interests of Sabah, now the poorest state in the country despite its abundance in natural resources.
The lame reasons given by the Speaker for rejecting the tabling of a motion in the interests of the State of Sabab and its people were that Petronas is currently investing billions of ringgit in development projects in Sabah and that the oil agreement is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government.
The recent utterance by the Sabah Chief Minister that the State Government would open "amicable discussions" with the Federal Governemnt to increase petroleum royalty payment from the current 5%, Melanie, also SAPP Wanita Chief, contended that this is again "sandiwara" in action by the BN Government especially when the 13th general election is just round the corner. She said the BN government has to stop insulting the people's intelligence with its flip-flopping policies.
Melanie further contended that since the Sabah State Government would now open "amicable discussions" with the Federal Government, the Chief Minister should also take up the issue of the oil fields Block L and Block M which Malaysia had signed away to Brunei. The State Government owes an explanation to the people of Sabah on the loss of these two productive oil fields and the lost of vast income from the oi and gas extraction from these two blocks of oil fields which the Federal Government signed away to the Brunei Government.
On the call by Party Bersatu Sabah (PBS) wanting to make the resolution at its coming party congress to request the federal government to increase the yearly oil royalty payment to 20%, Melanie said this is only a gimmick by the party to redeem its president, the Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, for being also the signatory, together with the then Chief Minister of Sabah Harris Salleh, on the oil agreement between the Sabah State Government and Petronas giving away the ownership, rights, powers, liberties and privileges of Sabah's oil and gas resources for a return of a mere 5% cash payment in 1976.
Melanie Chia Chui Ket is SAPP Women Chief and State Assemblywoman for N16 Luyang
EXPLANATION WHY BLOCKS L & M SIGNED AWAY BY MALAYA AS TRADE-OFF FOR LIMBANG!
ReplyDeleteask Pak Lah...he the one who signed it..
DeleteIsu ni sudah berlalu dan penyelesaian sudahpun diperoleh. tidak perlu lagi perbesarkan perkara ni.
DeleteI wonder why kept saying the government is desperate.
DeleteWhy noises made by the leaders in Barisan Nasional (BN) Sabah over the call to increase the 5% oil royalty paid to Sabah happen only when elections is looming... these Sabah BN leaders are all hopeless..
ReplyDeletetiada lah..ia adalah untuk kebaikan negeri dan rakyat sabah...
DeleteKerajaan negeri harus mengutamakan kepentingan dan hak orang Sabahan, harus juag memperjuangkan dan bersuara untuk rakya untuk mendapatkan loyalti yang lebih ideal.
DeleteHopeless? I don't think so. They have been pursuing so bad for the matter.
Deletekerajaan jg inginkan yang terbaik untuk rakyatnya.
Deletepemimpin sabah ini suara tin kosong saja masa berbahas di parlimen seperti si Bung zittie itu,bila ada pemimpin negeri serawak bersuara baru lah mereka terhegeh-hegeh meminta atau mengulas berkenaan royalti minyak,wajai rakyaat sabah kalau mahu 20% tumbang kan BN,masa itu inda payah berunding lah ia sudah dalam buku jingga PR....tukarrrrrrr
ReplyDeleteya...PR juga mencadangkan akan memberikan status penduduk tetap kepada PATI...
DeleteI don't trust Pakatan as well.
DeleteAll of our Sabah natural resources were siphoned to Malaya by party malaya in Sabah. Why we still need party malaya in Sabah? To let them continue to take our natural resources back to Malaya?
ReplyDeleteThe Malaya should leave us alone.
Deletewe can not believe the liars from BN. They are only singing the opposition tune as this time and they're running out of issue in this coming GE13. ABU. Local opposition parties stay united to fight the umno/bn evil regime and send them all to Malaya.
ReplyDeleteunfortunately, PR wants to be the hero...local opposition party have to face the PR in the coming election..
DeleteThe oppositions' liars are even more worse.
DeleteBagus juga ada usaha untuk membincangkan balik oil royalty Sabah.
ReplyDeletememang bagus..tapi ni pembangkang tidak puas hati...kenapa sebab ni pembangkang mahu jadi hero sebagai modal diorang pada pru13 nanti...
Deletekalau kerajaan diam atau bersuara, sama juga pembangkang ni tetap bising.
DeleteKita lihat bagaimana perbincangan itu dan apakah kepurusan yang dapat mereka capai.
ReplyDeleteJika mereka sudah suarakan niat untuk membincangkan isu ini kita kena sokong mereka. Ini sudah baik daripada tidak ada tindakan yang diambil oleh mereka.
ReplyDeleteSemoga ini membawakan hasil positive kepada rakyat Sabah dan menjadi pengajaran kepada pihak2 lain.
ReplyDeleteHarap perbincangan itu akan berjalan dengan lancar, dan membawa khabar gembira kepada semua.
ReplyDeleteya...rakyat juga mengharapkan sedemikian..
DeleteRoyalti lebih dari 5%, itulah yang difikirkan oleh rakyat Sabah sekarang.
DeleteRasanya bagus juga kerajaan BN menyuarakan masalah ini.
ReplyDeleteIsu mengenai Royalti minyak ini adalah hak penduduk Sabah.
ReplyDeletekan bagus kalau tiada perjanjian untuk 5% hasil minyak Sabah dulu. pasti banyak penyesalan ke atas pemimpin yang tandatangan perjanjian tersebut.
Deleteharap pekara ni akan diuruskan dengan sebaiknya demi kepentingan kita semua.
Deletesilap pemimpin dulu yang tandatangan royalti 5% untuk Sabah.
DeleteDatuk Musa telah pun mengatakan yang akan mengkaji semula mengenai royalti sabah ini.
ReplyDeleteIsu ini harus dikaji secepat mungkin, dengan kadar inflasi yang berganda-ganda, kadar loyalty juga harus dikaji dan diperbaiki lagi.
DeleteSemoga usaha Datuk Musa Aman ini akan tercapai sepenuhnya. Tidak perlulah kita risau janji pasti ditepati. Seperti juga janji RCI yang telah diumumkan oleh Datuk Najib.
ReplyDeleteharap usaha CM ini akan berikan hasil yang dinantikan oleh kita semua.
Deletemusang bin tidak aman dan umno mesti dihancurkan di Sabah sebab menyebabkan Sabah menjadi termiskin di Malaysia.
ReplyDeleteTidak pernah pun satu KM Sabah menyebabkan Sabah menjadi termiskin selain daripada musang bin tidak aman.
Sabah sudah jauh membangun berbanding tahun 2003 ketika Musa mula2 jadi CM.
DeleteWeather it is 5% or 25%, did anybody actually ever ask how much is actual amount paid annually to Sabah in term of Ringgit Hard Cash ? RM 100 Millions ? RM 500 Millions ? How MUCH ? Then the next question is how this loyalty money is spent.
ReplyDeleteBecause, at the end of the day, IF Sabah finally gets 20% or whatever the amount is, Rakyat Sabah will still be cheated blindly if the money just end up in secret overseas accounts....
The should be some kind of Transparency on how the money is spent for the Rakyat, it's Sabahan rights to know all these...By right, Sabah should already have a smooth double-lane TOLL-free highway all the way from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan and Tawau, plus all the way back through Sook and Keningau...
ReplyDeleteSabah and Sarawak should have their own panel to look into the oil royalty review for both states, said United Pasokmomogun KadazanDusun Murut Organization (UPKO) president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok .
The Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister said this when asked to comment on the suggestion to have the two East Malaysian states included in the special committee to review the oil royalty paid to Terengganu and Kelantan by the federal government.
ReplyDelete“Sabah and Sarawak should have their own panel to talk to the federal government. It is not necessary to be part of the panel for the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete“Obviously the historical setting is quite different both for Sabah and Sarawak and the peninsula states. Therefore I think it is necessary to have a separate panel for these two (East Malaysian) states,” Dompok said.
ReplyDeleteWhen asked about the opposition’s claim that the state government had in the past said that there was no necessity to ask for an increase in the royalty because it was getting huge allocation from the federal government for development but is now saying that it is open to discussion, Dompok said,
A review on the oil royalties issue is what the people wanted, it's good news that the state and federal government are open to discuss this oil royalties issue.
Delete
ReplyDelete“I do not know about the state government but we (UPKO) have been quite consistent in our view that there should be a re-look into the oil royalty and I think the immediate doable figure to my mind, is 10 per cent. Dompok said,
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Penampang member of parliament, under the agreement with Petronas, the royalty payment is 10 per cent, split between Sabah and Kuala Lumpur.
ReplyDelete“I think for a start that one is doable… for a start we can almost have another five per cent. This is my thinking. Beyond that there will have to be some negotiation with the oil companies because there are power sharing contracts with these companies in which these terms are spelt out.
“Therefore this is an area that needs to be looked into and this is where the committee comes in. That is why I said Sabah and Sarawak deserve a different committee from the one they have in Semenanjung,” Dompok stressed.
ReplyDeleteHe explained that the federal government has already been indirectly paying money to Kelantan and Terengganu.
ReplyDelete“Probably not in royalty but in essence they have been paid some money so I think it would not be wise to lump it up together with Sabah and Sarawak because Sabah and Sarawak are different,” he pointed out.
ReplyDeleteapa pun yang kerajaan buat, pembangkang pasti akan kritik.
ReplyDeleteIt happen every time, the opposition just want to criticize for the sake of criticizing. No matter what the government do, good or bad. The opposition never said anything good about it.
DeletePositive criticism has gain nothing wrong. The are criticize so that the government can do better.
DeleteCM sedang berusaha untuk membincangkan mengenai royalti minyak..kita sama2 lah berdoa yang terbaik.
ReplyDeleteDatuk Najib Razak also said a Special Committee will be set up to study the petroleum royalty payments involving Sabah and Sarawak oil rights in 6 months time frame.
DeleteIsu loyalti adalah sangat penting, pertambahan loyalti diperlukan untuk pembangunan yang berterusan.
ReplyDeleteHope that Sabah can get an increase of oil royalties from the 5% Harris Salleh has signed up for.
DeleteIni juga kelemahan kerajaan tidak memperjuangkan yang berpatutan untuk rakyat.
DeleteIt's good that Datuk Musa Aman is willing to review the oil royalties issue for the sake of Sabahans. Hope that the discussion with the federal government will bear fruit.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan persekutuan harus mengkaji semula kadar loyalti yang tidak memihak kepada orang di Sabah.
DeleteIsu loyalti tidak harus dikekalkan kadar yang sama untuk berpuluhan tahun, kini, masa yang tepat untuk diperbaiki lagi.
ReplyDeleteSabah berhak memiliki yang lebih banyak dari sekarang.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan sekarang bersedia mengkaji semula royalti minyak Sabah, pembangkang tiada isu lagi mahu dibangkitkan.
Deletethere is no wrong to maintain Sabah as fixed deposit status if they do something to correct the problems faced by people in this state..
ReplyDeleteby politicizing the BN move to solve the problem, shows the opposition is desperate..
ReplyDeleteBN kaji semula royalti minyak bukannya disebabkan terdesak tapi mengambil berat dan mengambil kira suara2 rakyat Sabah. Kerajaan prihatin terhadap isu royalti minyak
ReplyDelete