Oil royalties bait won’t bite, PAS tells Zaid

 

Kelantan PAS Youth chief Kamal Mohamad says the granting of oil royalties to Kelantan is the right of the people and not tied to the party ruling the state. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Kelantan PAS Youth wing says payment of oil royalties to the state by the federal government is the right of the people and should not be used as a political bait.

Commenting on former law minister Zaid Ibrahim’s statement asking the voters to kick PAS out if they want the royalty payments, state PAS Youth chief Kamal Mohamad said such a decision must not be tied to the party which is ruling the state.

He said the people of Kelantan had previously been betrayed by the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) government when it was in power by restricting the granting of oil royalties.

“Zaid’s attempt to use the royalty issue as a political bait is no longer suitable. The Umno-led BN government had long betrayed the people and the state of Kelantan in this matter.

“Whichever party that rules the country should ensure payment of oil royalties are made to Kelantan because it is the right of the people and the state government,” he said in a statement.

Zaid had said last week that the people of Kelantan would have the opportunity to enjoy the payment of oil royalties from the federal government if the PAS administration in Kelantan was defeated in the next general election (GE15).

He expressed confidence that if Umno was returned to power in Putrajaya, oil royalties would be paid to Kelantan, adding that he had submitted a proposal to the party leadership on how the oil and gas industry could be developed in the state.

Kamal said the Kelantan people were wise to assess which party was capable of governing and the issue of oil royalty was not the only criteria to elect leaders.

“If the people had based their vote just on wanting oil royalties, they would have changed the government a long time ago. Obviously, they are more interested in having an Islamic administration, which is why PAS has been ruling Kelantan for such a long time,” he said.

He said the PAS central leadership and the state government had never stopped demanding for the oil royalties.

Meanwhile, Kelantan PAS secretary Wan Roslan Wan Hamat described Zaid’s statement as more of a personal political struggle.

“This demonstrates his personal interest and not the politics of Islam that defends the ummah as practised by the current PAS administration,” he said. - FMT