Tengku Razaleigh backs Kelantan claim to oil money

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) chairman Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has throwm his support behind the Kelantan government’s claim of RM 1 billion on oil royalty, saying that PETRONAS obligation by law to pay up.



In an interview with online news The Malaysian Insider, Tengku Razaleigh, who was as the founding chairman of PETRONAS inked the vesting deed of PETRONAS and Kelantan in the 1970s, said the state is entitled to its 5% of any revenue derived from deposit found on or offshore Kelantan.

“If I am chairman still of PETRONAS, I will pay without all the fuss. And I feel all the more it should be paid because I signed the agreement! There are no two ways about it. It must be paid” he said, adding the question of disputed area did not arise because PETRONAS is operationg in an offshore area of Kelantan.

On whether the sate could take PETRONAS to court, Tengku Razaleigh said there was no need to do so because PETRONAS is obligated to pay.

“Look, we have this money and we want to help states like Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah because those states are poor states, undeveloped states like Sabah, Sarawak, they are also undeveloped states. Why grudge the pay? Those people are taxpayers all the same. They may have supported PAS in the last election. But it does not mean they are not citizens of this country. They have same rights as the others”, he added.

Tengku Razaliegh however refuse to comment whether there were political considerations in the decision not to pay Kelantan any oil royalty.

But he noted that oil royalty payment to Terengganu was suspended when PAS ruled the state from 2000 to 2004 and only reinstated early this year.

He also said the under the agreement, the money has to be paid to the states and not to federal government departments because only the state is entitled to the payment-By Sharon Tan

EFD 27 July 2009,16