PENAMPANG: United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) president Datuk Ewon Benedick wants the Petronas oil royalty payments to Sabah to be reviewed.
He said the agreement should be revised if it is true that it was never discussed or approved by the Sabah Government.
He said Upko took seriously the disclosure by former chief minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan that the 1976 Petronas Agreement, which gives Sabah only five per cent in oil royalties, was never tabled or discussed at a Sabah Cabinet meeting.
“If it is true that it was never discussed at a Cabinet meeting or approved by the Sabah Government, Upko demands that the Petronas Agreement be reviewed,” he said at the 17th Upko Triennial Delegates Conference at Dewan Hongkod Koisaan, KDCA.
Ewon said Upko disagreed with the view that oil and gas were solely under Federal jurisdiction simply because the Petroleum Development Act 1974 had been passed by Parliament.
He said any matter that had a major impact on Sabah should receive the consent of the Sabah Government.
“Our position is that any matter that has a major impact on Sabah must receive the consent of the Sabah Government,” he said.
Ewon said Upko also demanded the full implementation of Sabah’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement, maintaining that the interim payment currently received was only a temporary measure.
He said conflicts or wars in other countries should not be used as a reason to delay the full 40 per cent payment to Sabah, as people and companies operating in the state continued to pay taxes while state revenue continued to be collected.
In this regard, Ewon said Upko proposed an approach implemented in the early 1960s when Singapore was still part of the Federation of Malaysia, whereby 40 per cent of Federal revenue collected was retained in Sabah and channeled directly to the Sabah Government, while 60 per cent was placed in the Federal Government’s revenue account.
“This can be discussed in terms of the mechanism. If Singapore could do it when it was still part of the Federation of Malaysia, I do not see why it would be difficult to implement,” he said.
Ewon said the position on the matter would be debated by Upko delegates and, if approved, he would take the mandate to the Chief Minister, GRS top leadership and the Sabah Government. – Wu Vuide
‘Our position is that any matter that has a major impact on Sabah must receive the consent of the Sabah Government’ – Ewon
