Sabahans should know 5 pct oil and gas sharing — Ex- MP
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah State and Federal Governments have the duty to disclose the amount received by Sabah on the 5 per cent oil and gas revenue paid during the past 15 years by Petronas, the national oil company in charge of the nation’s oil and natural gas production and sale, with the ownership and exclusive rights of exploring petroleum in Malaysia, whether on shore or offshore.
This is set under the Petroluem Development Act 1974 and the Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs).
Making the call, former Kota Kinabalu member of parliament Datuk Hiew King Cheu said Sabahans should not be kept in the dark as far as this 5 per cent oil and gas sharing is concerned.
“There must be a clear account as how much we were receiving, and this is to show the accountability and transparency of the government.
“This is the responsibility of the government to keep the Sabah people informed of the financial income of this poorest region, in spite it is rich in oil and gas production,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Hiew said people in Sabah have questioned why they are so poor with a very slake economy.
“It is high time for the government to give concrete explanation and no hiding on their mistakes and faults from the people who elected them to manage Sabah.
“It is a shame to fail the people, and it is about time for the people to really consider sorting out the present situation and find better people’s representatives who can help Sabah,” he added.
Hiew said the Petronas account is not available for public view, and it is only the Prime Minister who has the power to view it.
“Does this make it a ‘top confidential’ set of documents? How do we know what is going on with Petronas and whether it is having a huge profit from the ‘Black Gold’ or losing tonnes of money in its trillion Ringgit overseas investments? It is highly unfair for a government to hide the facts from its people,” he said.
Hiew said the people want to know and see the “report card” to show how good, transparent and effective the government is doing.
“The people are the boss and it is their right to know how well the country is doing. If important that nothing is hidden and being covered up without public information and knowledge, or else the country is facing its “dark age”!
“Are the politicians being given too much power through ‘loopholes’ in our government system? If ‘yes’ we should make changes. In Malaysia, there are too many ‘bad big things’ happened right in front of our eye (without our notice).
“Why should we cry over the shoulder and regretted it?
“There were many good examples from the past that the people in Sabah were not being properly consulted, discussed, digested over the issue and even without the slightest knowledge that had affected and spoiled our livelihood until today.
“Therefore, we have to change our policies, system, management, laws and power to the government to establish an effective, efficient, clean and transparent country,” he said.