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TENOM: Sabah Barisan Nasional Election Chief Bung Moktar Radin does not understand why Pakatan Harapan has pledged to increase the oil royalty payment for Sabah and Sarawak to 20%, claiming it could not be done.
Bung said that increasing oil royalties for states was not easy as it involved pre-existing agreements with oil corporations, including international ones.
“We have done our research on the 1963 Malaysia Agreement on Oil Royalties and there is no way we can get 20% from the federal government,” he told reporters after a ceramah in this inner Sabah district today.
“The agreement was signed after our independence with international corporations, including large firms from outside the country.
“We didn’t have the experience to explore and drill for oil the last time, so we needed to sign agreements with foreign experts.”
The head of Sabah Umno said this complicates matters when it comes to increasing the oil royalty payment from 5% to 20%.
And that is why, Bung said, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, which comprises Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional and PBS, pledged in its “Aku Janji” manifesto to create a Sabah Oil Council to investigate oil and gas issues in the state.
Last year, former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad admitted that giving 20% to Sabah and Sarawak was not “viable” as it would mean that Petronas would no longer become the international oil company that it was.
Bung, who is contesting Lamag’s new seat on the east coast, said, however, that there were other ways to get what is owed to Sabah.
“We will discuss with Petronas about this. So don’t worry, but let’s rule the state first, ”he said.
During BN’s campaign in Bongawan earlier, he said that the proposed Sabah Petroleum Council aimed to take back what belonged to Sabah so the money could be used for education and other development projects in the state.
Bung is campaigning, including Pensiangan in the heart of Sabah, to help the BN candidates.
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