`


THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAH
read:
MALAYSIA Tanah Tumpah Darahku

LOVE MALAYSIA!!!


Sunday, August 26, 2012

‘Musa must discuss lost oil blocks revenue’


Sabah opposition has described PBS' soon-to-be tabled resolution as a 'face-saving gimmick' for Pairin Kitingan who co-signed the originald deal.
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Barisan Nasional government will get a second bite of its oil riches cherry when it opens “amicable discussions” with the federal government over the bargain basement rates it sold off state resources over 30 years ago.
The opposition in the state has pointed out that with the state Barisan Nasional government’s willingness to ask for a better deal on its oil wealth, the door has also opened to pursuing the state’s oil rights that was surrendered to neighbour Brunei without its consent.
Seizing on Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman’s comment that the state government would consider opening talk with the federal government to raise from 5% the oil royalty it is presently getting from national oil company Petronas for extracting the precious commodity from Sabah, the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) said the the contentious surrender of Sabah’s rights to oil-bearing areas within its waters should also be on the table for discussion.
Musa, taking his cue from his Sarawak counterpart Taib Mahmud, said last week that the state Barisan Nasional government would consider opening “amicable discussions” with federal government on the discount rates the federal government bought Sabah’s oil and gas in 1976.
SAPP women wing chief, Melanie Chia said Musa’s willingness to open talks on the matter also puts the issue of the surrender of Blocks L & M, two oil fields off Sabah, to Brunei during the tenure of former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the table.
She said that this was only appropriate since the blocks were surrendered without the state government’s knowledge and would be a mark of sincerity and commitment by the Barisan Nasional to protect the rights and interests of Sabah.
“The government owes an explanation to the people of Sabah on the loss of these two productive oil fields and the loss of income from the oil and gas extraction from these two blocks of oil fields,” Chia said.
Chia said that the failure to address this issue would mean that “it is yet another ‘sandiwara’ (soap opera) by the BN government to pacify the people of Sabah in order to retain its ‘fixed deposit’ state in the coming 13th general election.
Pairin-Harris signed agreement
Opposition leaders noted that the recent remarks by the various state BN leaders supporting Musa’s comments appeared to show that the BN government was desperate to halt its slide in popularity.
Chia who is also the Luyang assemblywoman pointed out that the present Sabah government had over the last several years repeatedly said that it was not necessary to review the oil agreement because the federal government was giving Sabah billions of ringgit in allocations.
“This was always the answer given by the Chief Minister in the State Assembly when the subject was raised by me,” she said.
As recently as August last year a motion submitted by the opposition asking the state government to demand for an increase in the payment for oil extracted from Sabah was rejected by the State Legislative Assembly Speaker Salleh Said Keruak.
“The reasons given by the Speaker then for rejecting the tabling of a motion were that Petronas is currently investing billions of ringgit in development projects in Sabah and that the oil agreement is under the jurisdiction of the federal government,” Chia said.
The opposition painted the rejection of the motion then as an act of cowardice and a failure of the BN government to protect the state’s rights and interests at a time when was widely acknowledged as being poverty stricken despite its abundance of natural resources.
Chia meanwhile also dismissed the recent statement by Party Bersatu Sabah (PBS) that it would table a resolution at its coming party congress to request the federal government to increase the yearly oil royalty payment to 20%.
She described it as a “face-saving” gimmick by the party to erase the mistake of its president, Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who was also a signatory to the oil agreement, together with the then chief minister of Sabah Harris Salleh.
Harris has gone on record stating that state leaders then failed to strike a better deal because they were forced to sign the agreement.

25 comments:

  1. PM Datuk Nahib has described Malaysia’s international recognition as proof of Barisan Nasional’s achievement of major changes and development for its people throughout its 55-year leadership of the nation.

    In affirming the country’s achievements, other Islamic countries also wished to make Malaysia their role model.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Malaysia is well known and respected among Islamic countries. This shows that what we’ve fought for under the present government has gained their recognition and honour

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mengenai perkara royalti 5% ini tidak patut disalahkan kepada Datuk Musa. Beliau cuma generasi yang meneruskan yang bersalah adalah orang yang menandatangani persetujuan tersebut.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mudah-mudahan kenaikan royalti akan dapat dipertimbangkan melalui perbincangan yang akan dilaksanakan nanti.

      Delete
    2. Harris yang menandatangi royalti 5%.

      Delete
  4. Semoga kepentingan dan hak penduduk Sabah akan diberikan dan akan terus diperjuangkan.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Isu Blok L dan M rasanya sudah selesai.tidak perlu dipertikaikan lagi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. isu ini tak patut diungkit lagi, ia dah lama selesai. tak perlu nak kelirukan rakyat lagi.

      Delete
  6. SAPP ni suka sangat bawa isu yang telahpun dijelaskan sebelum ini..

    ReplyDelete
  7. kenapa agaknya SAPP suka sangat guna isu kitar semula? untuk kelirukan rakyat? atau untuk menghalang rakyat beralih sokongan kepada kerajaan selepas pengumuman jawatankuasa mengkaji semula royalti minyak?

    ReplyDelete
  8. memandangkan SAPP suka sangat menggunakan isu yang sudah dijelaskan secara panjang lebar sebelum ini, mungkin parti lawan juga boleh menggunakan isu SAS untuk membuat serangan balas..

    ReplyDelete
  9. In 2011, Petronas announced a whopping investment and its commitment to a combined capital expenditure of RM45 billion to implement an integrated oil and gas master plan for Sabah, involving the development of several upstream and downstream projects over the next few years.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The announcement received positive reactions and all-round support from the majority of the people and state leaders alike, although some said there was still room for improvement in Petronas’ presence in Sabah.

    ReplyDelete
  11. On August 4 last year, Petronas’ general manager for Sabah and Labuan regional office Joseph Podtung said some of these projects had already started, while others were expected to commence soon.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The projects included the RM3.8-billion Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT), the RM1.5-billion 300-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant in Kimanis, the RM4.6-billion mega fertiliser plan in Sipitang and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification terminal in Lahad Datu to feed natural gas to the proposed new 300MW power plant in the area. The terminal and the power plant were expected to cost RM2.2 billion.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, who is also State Finance Minister, assured that the state government would extend its full support and assistance to facilitate Petronas-related activities in Sabah.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Citing the Sabah Ammonia-Urea (Samur) plant project owned by Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd in Sipitang, Musa said Sabah firms were set to be awarded contracts worth some RM600 million in the project.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This also signifies the earnestness of Petronas in giving Malaysians in Sabah opportunities to be players in the business of oil and gas as expressed by the Chief Minister with regards to the Samur project.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Former head of state Tun Ahmadshah Abdullah said in November last year that Petronas’ investments to develop Sabah’s downstream and upstream oil and gas industries would have a big impact on the state’s economy; and that Sabahans should be proud of the mega project, slated for completion in 2013.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The discovery of several oil fields offshore Sabah was expected to help drive the state’s economy and create job opportunities for Sabahans, he said, adding the nation’s oil, gas and energy sector was expected to need around 21,000 highly-skilled workers by 2020.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Bongawan assemblyman Datuk Karim Bujang was quoted as saying that Petronas has done much for the people and the state.

    ReplyDelete
  19. “I believe the benefit from the spin-offs of the projects is more than the royalty rate sought in the motion,” Karim said.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The opposition in Sabah, however, called for a higher oil royalty, but hesitated to inform the people the true picture or the quantum of Petronas’ contributions to the state so far.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Last year Petronas discovered oil offshore Sabah — initial estimates put the well’s reserves at 227 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and tests in three different reservoirs yielded a maximum output rate of 8,200 barrels per day (bpd).

    ReplyDelete
  22. The Sabah Oil and Gas Contractors Association (SOGCA) said the state’s oil and gas industry had been energised by Petronas’ plans to develop RM45 billion worth of long-term key projects in Sabah.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.