Sabah to deal with oil royalty issue in the spirit of ‘family’

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will continue pursuing the 20% oil royalty promised by Pakatan Harapan in its manifesto.

However, the state will do so “as a family” and not through confrontation, says Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

The Sabah Chief Minister revealed that he is reserving his comment on Sarawak Pakatan’s announcement on Monday that the Federal Government’s promise of 20% royalty to oil-producing states is in addition to the existing 5%.

“We have to look at how Sarawak goes about it first, as well as what has been spelt out in the manifesto.

“I am not going to say anything else until I see the Prime Minister and Petronas,” he told reporters after attending the state-level Hari Pahlawan celebrations at the Likas Stadium here yesterday.

He, however, said the issue would be sorted out diplomatically among all the stakeholders.

“We have discussed the oil royalty even before GE14. But we are a team, and we must find the best solution to this issue as a family.

“We (the Sabah government) are grateful that 20% oil royalty is being granted in line with the manifesto, but the pledge is still in the early stages of being realised.

“A formula was not mentioned in the manifesto, so it is important for us to discuss and settle on the formula,” he said.

Shafie gave an assurance that the Sabah government would continue negotiating for a higher royalty.