Time not right for oil royalty talks, says Najib
Published on: Thursday, May 05, 2016
Kuching: Sarawak's request for an increase in oil royalty will not be considered for the time being as the country's oil revenue had dropped drastically due to a significant drop in global oil prices, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (pic).The Prime Minister said the Cabinet and the Sarawak Government agreed that the time was not right because the country had lost RM40 billion due to a drop in crude oil prices in the global market.Najib however, assured that the Federal Government would continue to provide funds for development in Sarawak.
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"We have increased allocations outside the 2016 Budget that was approved for Sarawak through various allocations and projects approved in Sarawak recently," he said after a Cabinet meeting at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here, the first time a Federal Cabinet meeting has been held outside Putrajaya since 2011.Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem also attended the Cabinet meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and other ministers.Najib said the Pan Borneo Highway project was a good example of the Federal government's commitment towards the development of Sarawak because the construction will be continued despite the high cost involved."I and the Deputy Prime Minister have approved RM3.5 billion for projects to be carried out in Sarawak over the past week and in the next two days before polling, many more millions of Ringgit will be approved for development in Sarawak," he said. The Sarawak Government had requested for higher oil royalty from the current five percent.
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The Prime Minister said the process of talks involving the empowerment rights of Sarawak had started with the first phase involving 13 provisions of administrative empowerment already announced by Adenan.Najib said the Federal and state governments had agreed to look into more complex issues based on legality and Sarawak Agreement (Malaysia Act 1963).
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"The first phase has been completed and we have entered the second phase which needs Law experts to study all details in the agreement," said Najib. Najib also said the Federal Cabinet meeting in Petrajaya here, is nothing extraordinary because each minister has responsibilities at the state level.The Prime Minister said this was different from the presence of state leaders like Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who is in Sarawak for the sole purpose of campaigning. "If the opposition wants to make this an issue, I wish to remind their leaders like Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, that he has no powers outside Penang but is here only for campaigning purposes."Each minister has ministerial responsibilities in each state. Ministers will look into work done by their respective ministries, problems of the people, do monitoring, effectiveness of policies, and projects approved by the government," he said.The Prime Minister said the purpose of holding the meeting here was to show support for and symbolise the close ties with Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem and the state government led by Sarawak Barisan Nasional. He also said having Federal Cabinet meetings outside Putrajaya was done from time to time. The last Cabinet meeting held outside Putrajaya was in 2011 in Kuantan, Pahang.On Sarawak's entry ban on certain leaders, Najib said the Sarawak government had the powers to do so and that all quarters must respect this."This (entry into Sarawak) is at their discretion. I believe the Sarawak government has good reasons to deny entry because it does not want the political atmosphere to be smeared by speeches that touch on people's sensitivities and the like."The fact is, democracy works because if we give precedence to interests of the people of Sarawak, decisions should be made by them and their leaders. That is the yardstick, not outsiders (deciding), instead it is for the people of Sarawak to decide on who should campaign for them," he said. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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