Property Hunter Magazine September Issue 2014 | Page 46

/// East Malaysia Property News

Sabah Confident of Same Royalty Hike Consideration
these companies are merely
playing second or third fiddle to
companies from other Malaysian
states and international companies
undertaking multi-billion oil and gas
related projects in Sabah,” he said.
According to Donald, there has
always been a general negative
perception towards Petronas
in Sabah and some are even
questioning the validity of the
Petroleum Development Act.
“I think that it is high time for
Petronas to really pay attention
to these dissatisfactions and give
Sabah and Sabahans a better
deal than what we are receiving at
present. So, of course, as a Sabahan,
I do think that the PM should also
extend the same assurance to
consider a higher oil and gas royalty
for Sabah, as he did for Sarawak.
Sabah MCA Liaison Committee
advisor Datuk Paul Kong Sing Chu
said he welcomed the positive good
news for Sarawakians.
The recent completed, Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal at Kimanis

Parti Bersatu Sabah secretary
general Datuk Johnny Mositun
said he was elated with Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun
Razak’s willingness to give utmost
consideration to a request from the
Sarawak State Government for an
increase in oil royalties for the state.
“It is good that our Prime Minister
has not rejected outright Sarawak’s
request for an increase in oil
royalties, unlike all past Prime
Ministers, who simply refused to
even consider the matter,” he said,
whenasked to comment on Najib’s
assurance in response to a request
by Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri
Datuk Amar Adenan Satem for an
increase in royalty and for more
funds from the federal government
for the development of the state.
Mositun said there is every reason
to believe that Sabah would get the
same consideration as Sarawak in
the context of increased oil royalties.
“Of course, the matter has not
been brought up officially through
the state assembly, so I am not in
a position to say how Sabah will
broach the issue with Kuala Lumpur.
After all, there are other avenues
which the state government can
use to resolve the matter with Kuala
Lumpur. It is best left to the Chief

46

www.PropertyHunter.com.my

Minister and the cabinet to decide
on what approach Sabah should
take,” he said.
Mositun added it was an open
secret that Sabahans had long been
demanding for an increase in oil
royalties from Petronas, and the
Federal Government was aware of
these demands for some time now.
“But as the PM has said, the matter
must be carefully studied before it
can be acted upon. Petroleum is a
strategic national asset, and a major
contributor to the national treasury.
We should hope for a win-win
outcome to the issue of increased
oil royalties for Sabah,” he said.
Mositun added Sabahans could
hope for some good news on the
matter when the Prime Minister
visits Sabah in the middle of this
month.
“At least I think so. Surely Datuk
Seri Najib would not want to be
seen as treating Sabah differently
from Sarawak on this issue. And if
he says that Sarawak Chief Minister
Adenan Satem had ‘whispered’ it to
his ears, who is to say our own Chief
Minister had not already done the
same without any publicity,” Mositun
quipped.

His counterpart from UPKO, Datuk
Donald Mojuntin, said that if the
federal government is willing to
consider a higher oil and gas
royalty for Sarawak, then the same
consideration must be given to
Sabah.

“As a naturalized Sabahan who was
born in Sarawak, I urge the Prime
Minister to consider rewarding
Sabah with the same increment
because the two East Malaysian
states are the safe deposits for the
Barisan Nasional government,” Kong
said.

Short of passing a motion in the
State Assembly, most of the political
parties, whether government or
the opposition, in Sabah have
consistently and persistently spoken
out fervently for the same increase
of oil and gas royalty as that
requested by Sarawak.

He added that the Sabah BN state
government under Chief Minister
Datuk Seri Musa Aman is due for
an increase as it will mean more
funds for the state to carry out
programmes and projects which will
benefit the people of Sabah greatly.

“I believe that Sabah should also be
requesting for a representative to be
on the Petronas Board of Directors
to ensure that the State’s interest is
protected. We should also be asking
why Petronas have never initiated
any Vendor Development Program
(VDPs) in Sabah.

The two East Malaysian states
are urgently in need of the extra
funds to help improve their basic
infrastructure such as roads, water
and electricity supply, especially in
the rural areas, Kong, who is also a
MCA presidential council member
and the MCA Penampang division
chairman, stressed.

There are more than 40 of such
VDPs in the whole country, including
in Sarawak. Sabah has not even one.
For a state that is set to become
the biggest oil and gas producer in
the country, this is really a sad and
disappointing situation.
“I believe that more can be done
by Petronas to build up Sabah’s oil
and gas industry players. At present,

www.PropertyHunter.com.my

47