Speaking to FMT today, Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin said from what he understood, what Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad meant was 20% royalty distribution on profit from the respective oil-producing states.
“I believe Sabah produces about 30% of the total volume of oil. So, the 20% royalty on profit is only 5.6%, giving Sabah only a 0.6% increase.”
Nevertheless, Bung said he will wait for the federal government to explain in detail what it meant by the 20% royalty.
Meanwhile, a Sarawak political activist believed Mahathir’s statement was nothing but lip service, and meant to confuse Parliament and the people, especially the leaders and people of oil-producing states.
Echoing Bung’s reasoning, Zulfaqar Sa’adi said Mahathir’s promise actually breached the Petroleum Development Act itself which begged the question of whether the prime minister intended to amend the Act in the coming sittings.
“Furthermore, Mahathir’s proposal is in direct opposition to the Federal Constitution Article 112C(4)(b) which expressed that the maximum royalties ad valorem is 10%.
“So, how exactly can a single person go above the Federal Constitution and say he will increase the royalties to 20%? This is just not possible unless a constitutional amendment is made,” he said.
Royalti minyak berdasarkan keuntungan hasil negeri, kata Dr M