MORE WEALTH FOR THE ELITE TO SIPHON OUT? Adenan CERTAIN Najib will raise oil royalty to 20%

KUCHING - Sarawak is confident of successful negotiations with the Federal Government over its request for oil royalty to be raised from 5% to 20%.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem said the main purpose of the request was to increase the state’s share of revenue from its oil and gas industry.

“The question is not so much oil royalty as how much the state’s gain will be from oil and gas. Call it royalty, investment or equity, it amounts to the same thing.

“With this in mind, we want to talk with the Federal Government and they are open to it. I think it can be very successful if both parties are open to suggestion.

“And because the Federal and state governments are Barisan Nasional, I think we can sort things out,” he said yesterday.

Last month, the State Legislative Assembly unanimously approved a motion seeking an increase in royalty from 5% to 20%.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said at the national Gawai Dayak celebration on Monday that the Federal Government was willing to consider the request.

Adenan welcomed Najib’s assurance that Putrajaya was open to negotiations, adding that any increase must not be at the expense of the state’s usual development allocation but be over and above it. - ANN