GE13: PM - Opposition pledge to increase Sabah’s oil royalty unrealistic

BEAUFORT: The opposition's promise of increasing Sabah's oil royalty from the present 5% to 20% will kill off interest in developing the offshore petroleum industry, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

The Prime Minister said under the current arrangement, petroleum companies continue to tap into marginal fields that would eventually spell increased revenue for Sabah.

''This will not happen with the Opposition's promise of a 20% royalty share for Sabah. There will be no incentive for petroleum companies to develop our fields,'' he said when launching Yayasan Sabah roadshow in Kuala Penyu near here.

''What the Opposition wants to do, in essence, is to kill the proverbial goose that has been laying the golden egg,'' Najib said to the cheers and applause of the large crowd.

He said though Sabah now gets 5% of petroleum revenues, the state receives more in terms of development funds and numerous special financial allocations from the federal government.

''This is all possible when we have a strong mandate,'' Najib said, adding that, among the special funding for the state, was a RM250mil grant that was the federal government's contribution for an international standard convention centre costing some RM500mil in Kota Kinabalu.

At the event, the Prime Minister also launched the 1.2km long Sitompok Bridge costing some RM59.6mil located just outside of Kuala Penyu town.

He said the long bridge was just one of Barisan Nasional's many achievements in Sabah that included reducing the poverty rate from 19.7% in 1999 to 8.1% last year.

Najib said the opposition on the other hand could only be counted on to make unrealistic promises in their manifestos.