Be clear on definition of ‘royalty’, Wee tells Pakatan

PETALING JAYA: Don’t twist the issue about the definition of petroleum royalites, Ayer Hitam MP Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong tells the Pakatan Harapan government.

Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali had in Parliament said the word “royalty” – in Pakatan’s promise to raise petroleum royalties to 20% – had it’s own definition that was easily understood by the public.

“When I criticised, he read out the definition of ‘royalty’ in the dictionary,” said Dr Wee.

Dr Wee reproduced the line “Royalty means a compensation or a portion of the proceeds paid to the owner of a right, as a patent of oil or mineral right, for the use of it” in his Facebook post.

“Azmin, however, told the Dewan Rakyat that PH’s definition of petro- leum ‘royalty’ is not the same as the dictionary definition,” said Dr Wee yesterday.

It is clear, he stated, that Azmin had given an irrational statement by telling Dewan Rakyat that Pakatan’s definition on petroleum royalty was not the same as that in any dictionary.

“The word ‘royalty’ does mean compensation or part of the revenue paid for patents, oil or minerals taken from the owner, it is not based off profits,” Dr Wee stated.

He asked whether Azmin was unable to differentiate between proceeds and profits.

The question of defining oil royalties has been of increasing importance to oil-producing states, as the previous federal government only paid 5% of gross production to each state.

The confusion arose when Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed had said each state will get 20% of the profits from their area.

A week ago, Azmin had also stated that increasing the payments would take time, as the provisions in the Petroleum Development Act 1974 needed to be amended first.

Azmin, however, warned that increasing the payments based on gross profits would have serious consequences on the financial stuatus of both Petronas and the federal government.