By Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Herman Luping
SABAH leaders are determined to present the state’s interests to the federal government. This is good and will help strengthen Sabah BN’s hold in the state now and in the future.
Recently, Sabah BN leaders met the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and among the issues raised with him was the illegal immigrants situation in Sabah, Sabah’s representation in the federal civil service, at the federal cabinet level, and the question of the oil revenue.
The request for an increase in Sabah’s oil revenue is an interesting matter and it would be great if the federal government would give this matter an open and due attention. Sabah at the moment receives five per cent of crude oil produced and sold. Translated into financial terms, Sabah gets approximately RM100 million a year. It is believed that Petronas’ income annually is about US$40 billion.
This is not the first time that Sabah leaders have asked for the oil revenue to be increased. For it has been raised before. Indeed, even before the state government agreed to sign on the dotted line of the oil agreement in the early 70s, Sabah leaders had argued for a better deal on the oil issue.
The Usno-Alliance government under the late Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun lost power and was replaced by the Berjaya Party government in 1976, partly because of Tun Mustapha’s refusal to sign the oil agreement, giving the state only five per cent of crude oil produced and sold. The Usno-Alliance government wanted at least 30 per cent.
The federal government, under the late Tun Abdul Razak, was visibly seen to support the creation of the new political party Berjaya, to topple the Mustapha government. Sabah leaders opposed to Tun Mustapha’s governance took up the challenge asked by the Prime Minister and the birth of Berjaya Party became part of the history of the state. It is also part of the history of this state when Sabah signed the oil agreement.
I remember attending a meeting in Miri in late 1974 where the former Chief Minister of Sarawak Tun Datuk Patinggi Abdul Rahman Yacob and other Sarawak leaders, met Tun Mustapha. Tun Mustapha was accompanied by his deputy, the late Tun Said Keruak, Datuk Habib, and Datuk Harris Salleh (himself was to be Sabah chief minister later). I was in the entourage. The issue was for a concerted action from both states to request for a 30 per cent share of crude price obtained.
Malaysia’s oil company, then known as Petromina, was under the chairmanship of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Through him, the federal government was only prepared to give the three oil producing states (Sarawak, Sabah and Terengganu) five per cent. The other two states soon ‘capitulated’ — leaving Tun Mustapha and Sabah alone to fight the ‘oil cause’. For he insisted that the state should get 30 per cent. And as I said, his removal and the defeat of the Usno are now history. The moral of this story of course, is that one cannot fight the federal government.
The oil issue was also part of the PBS manifesto in 1985: that if the PBS won the election it would renegotiate the oil percentage given to the state. PBS won but just by the skin of its teeth. It was too weak and because of defection by three of its assemblymen, PBS president Datuk Seri Pairin Kitingan had to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly for another election in 1986.
The issue of the oil percentage was momentarily shelved for the PBS government found itself fighting for the right to rule the state. The PBS government was not a member of the BN government and was in opposition.
In the prelude to the 1994 election, the PBS who was eventually accepted into the BN fold withdrew and joined forces with the proposed Gagasan Rakyat of Tengku Razaleigh (Semangat 46) and Lim Kit Siang (DAP). One of the issues agreed with the Gagasan Rakyat was the increase of the five per cent agreement to 30 per cent. But then, as history tells us, Gagasan Rakyat did not win the election.
Since then there have been muted calls by leaders for the increase of the oil payment for the State but there has been no reply from the federal government.
The issue is again raised. And it seems that it is opportune and timely that this matter be dealt with now.
To begin with, Sabah’s capacity to earn revenue is getting less. The state’s then economic mainstay, timber, is no longer available. And if the figure given to us in the press by SAPP’s leader, Datuk Seri Tham Nyip Tsen is correct, that the state stands to lose a colossal RM300 million annually to the federal government for the trans-shipment of our crude palm oil by the payment to West Malaysian ports; it is no wonder that Sabah is getting less and less revenue and in the process, getting poorer. This issue raised by Tham needs to be addressed.
But the main point is that Petronas has become considerably richer since its inception and has become the richest government corporation today. As we pointed out earlier, its income from its upstream and downstream ventures is in the billions every year, Petronas can therefore afford to increase the state’s share of this income bonanza. The Petronas Towers stand proudly in the heart of the nation’s capital, a symbol of economic strength of the country. And if we may say so, part of that symbol is Sabah’s contribution.
It is not likely that Sabah Malaysians would cause a ‘revolution’ to get an increase of the oil revenue. For such action would be a retrograde step in the wrong direction. We are not emulating the action taken by the Acehnese in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, where thousands of lives were lost because of their fight to get a better deal from the Indonesian government. In the end, the Acehnese got what they wanted though, 30 per cent. But going to war is not the Malaysian way.
Petronas has prospered and is continuing to prosper. And indirectly, Petronas made it possible for Malaysia to send one of us to the International Space Station at a cost of several million ringgit. We can now boast of having an ‘astronaut’ in our midst.
Meanwhile, though, it is also high time that the Prime Minister should consider the request to increase the oil percentage for the state.
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