Terengganu must account for how it spends oil royalty

Diyana Ibrahim Diyana Ibrahim Updated 7 years ago · Published on 3 Jun 2019 11:00AM · 6 Comments

Terengganu earned more than RM1 billion in oil royalty from Putrajaya last year, which the PAS-run administration uses to fund development in the east coast state. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Hasnoor Hussain, June 3, 2019.

PUTRAJAYA must implement a mechanism to monitor the use of oil royalty given to PAS-ruled Terengganu to avoid abuse of the funds, said the state Pakatan Harapan chairman.

Such monitoring is necessary to ensure the money is used for people-oriented projects, said Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah.

“There must be a mechanism so that the federal government can monitor closely how the money is used. The federal government must monitor so that the funds are not used for lavish projects but for development of the state as a whole.

“It is also necessary so that the state government can be held accountable,” the state Amanah chief told The Malaysian Insight.

The senator said the present check-and-balance system does not audit the expenditure of oil royalty in detail.

Terengganu PKR chief Azan Ismail urged Putrajaya to amend the Petroleum Development Act 1974 to include provisions to make it compulsory for oil royalty recipient states to submit audits twice a year.

This will ensure that such funds are not abused by the state governments.

Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar relies on oil and gas royalties to pay civil servants and fund development projects started by the previous administration. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, June 3, 2019.

“I think we must amend the act to make states submit audit reports twice a year. It will ensure that the people can see where the oil royalty has gone, to see if they are used to build schools or homes.

“We are worried that if there is no audit, the funds can just vanish,” he said.

The PH federal government agreed to give oil royalty to Terengganu to the tune of RM1.6 billion per year.

During PAS’ rule of Terengganu between 1999 and 2004, the then Barisan Nasional replaced oil royalty with compassionate payment (wang ehsan) distributed through federal government agencies in the state.

Last month, Menteri Besar Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said the state received RM1.053 billion in oil royalty from Putrajaya last year.

The payment was made in stages, with RM603 million before the 14th general election, RM100 million on August 21, RM200 million on October 8 and RM150 million on December 12. – June 3, 2019.

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Comments

  • Money to build mosque la . Monitor the tender process la

    Posted 7 years ago by John Fam · Reply

  • Although I dont think the PAS state authority is doing a good job, it is their money. The voters should be the one to monitor what their elected representatives do with the money. The most federal government can do is to pass legislation that ensures transparency in dealing with state revenue in all states.

    Posted 7 years ago by Malaysia New hope · Reply

  • Although I dont think the PAS state authority is doing a good job, it is their money. The voters should be the one to monitor what their elected representatives do with the money. The most federal government can do is to pass legislation that ensures transparency in dealing with state revenue in all states.

    Posted 7 years ago by Malaysia New hope · Reply

  • Although I dont think the PAS state authority is doing a good job, it is their money. The voters should be the one to monitor what their elected representatives do with the money. The most federal government can do is to pass legislation that ensures transparency in dealing with state revenue in all states.

    Posted 7 years ago by Malaysia New hope · Reply

  • Although I dont think the PAS state authority is doing a good job, it is their money. The voters should be the one to monitor what their elected representatives do with the money. The most federal government can do is to pass legislation that ensures transparency in dealing with state revenue in all states.

    Posted 7 years ago by Malaysia New hope · Reply

  • Although I dont think the PAS state authority is doing a good job, it is their money. The voters should be the one to monitor what their elected representatives do with the money. The most federal government can do is to pass legislation that ensures transparency in dealing with state revenue in all states.

    Posted 7 years ago by Malaysia New hope · Reply