Nik Aziz says 'evil' of Awang Adek to snub royalty poster

Nov 16: For refusing to join the state's ongoing campaign to pressure the Federal government pay the oil royalty, UMNO's Kelantan-born Awang Adek Hussin (right) drew a sharp rebuke from Kelantan Menteri Besar who described him 'evil'.

Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was responding to the refusal of the deputy Finance Minister to accept a poster which carries the late Tun Abdul Razak's statement in parliament in 1975 promising every state in the Federation oil royalty for oil drilled within state territories.

Kelantan exco and PAS vice president Husam Musa, who heads the State Petroleum Royalty Claims committee, handed over a copy of the poster to Najib Razak, to remind him of his late father's stand on the matter.

According to the statement, now named 'Amanat Tun Razak' by Kelantan, every state will receive 5 percent of the oil wealth extracted by Petronas, its agencies and contractors, for oil drilled inshore and offshore the state under the Petroleum Development Act 1975.

The act of the Kelantanese deputy minister is just pure evil, denying the state and its people the rights as enshrined under the law.

"If Terengganu was paid royalty for oil extracted from the state, then it should be the same for Kelantan, whose oil resources were taken from the state,” Nik Aziz (left) said.

Earlier, Royalty Claims Action Group (GEGAR) secretary Muhammad Hishammuddin Ghazali said Awang Adek refused to accept the posters handed to him.

“Twice he flatly rejected (the poster) and said this was all political,” he said.

-- Harakahdaily