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Chong chieng jen
KUCHING: The Chairman of the State Democratic Action Party (DAP), Chong Chieng Jen, has considered the payment of RM295 billion of the state sales tax (SST) from Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) to the Sarawak government as “a compensation “for the state’s rights to its oil and gas.
The Stampin Congressman and the Kota Sentosa Assemblyman opined that by accepting the payment, the state government had ceded its oil and gas rights to the federal government.
“This is the second time that the current GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) or the former BN (Barisan Nasional) reaffirmed the validity of the Petroleum Development Act (PDA) of 1974, which took away Sarawak’s oil and gas rights in exchange of a fraction of its worth and value.
“The first time the Sarawak government handed over the Sarawak oil and gas rights to the federal government occurred in 1974 when the 1974 PDA was presented and approved in Parliament,” it said in a statement today.
Chong said that the former prime minister, the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem, after 40 years, openly questioned the invalidity and unconstitutionality of PDA 1974 and wanted to regain Sarawak’s rights over its oil and gas.
With the agreement of the current Sarawak government that it now accepts SST payment in settling the dispute over Sarawak’s oil and gas rights, the DAP legislator said that the state government had affirmed for the second time the validity of the 1974 PDA.
“Thus, it marks the end of any legal argument that the late Adenan Satem had previously made in Sarawak DUN (State Legislative Assembly) in claiming our oil and gas rights.
“It also ends the demand to increase oil and gas royalties. Most importantly, it will prevent future generations from claiming our oil and gas rights, ”Chong said.
He said that the GPS state government wanted to portray the RM2.95 billion SST collection as a victory, but feared Sarawak had lost more than RM2.95 billion raised.
He was quick to add: “It could be the second time the Sarawak government is acting like a penny, a silly pound.”
He said the situation was now similar to that of 1974, when the PDA with Sarawak was approved and he was awarded the 5 percent royalty in compensation for his rights to oil and gas.
The five percent royalty was then thought to be a good bargain for Sarawak, but only later was it found to be grossly inappropriate, he said.
“Also, what the federal government gives through Petronas in terms of OSH, can always be balanced by reducing the annual budget allocations for Sarawak.
“It’s just from the left pocket to the right pocket. Meanwhile, we lost our right to our oil and gas forever, ”Chong said.
As such, he urged the Sarawak government to reach out to the people of Sarawak by revealing the full scope of the deal.
On Thursday, Petronas and its subsidiaries presented a check for RM2.95 billion to the Sarawak government as payment for the SST on petroleum products.
In a press conference held in conjunction with the handover, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said: “Petronas and its subsidiaries have fully settled SST payments on petroleum products for 2019, as assessed by the SST Comptroller according to with the provisions of the Sarawak State Sales Tax Ordinance 1998. The amount paid by Petronas and its subsidiaries is RM2,956,671,407.36 ”.
He also thanked Shell, Murphy Oil, Pertamina and Sapura OMV who had previously complied with and agreed to the SST due to the state for a total of RM138 million.
Abang Johari added that the state government will now focus on discussions with the federal government to reach a trade agreement on other issues related to oil and gas found and produced in Sarawak.
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