SABAH Chief Minister Shafie Apdal reserved his comments on oil payments being based on profit and not revenue as announced by the Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

He said he would only speak further once details on how the royalty will be determined for the state has been clarified. 

He said he would also speak with Dr Mahathir to determine if the payment will be done through profit or revenue generated by national oil company Petronas.  

“I will tell you later, I have yet to get the details. I will speak to the prime minister (first),” Shafie said in response to confusion arising from Dr Mahathir’s announcement.   

On Thursday, 93-year-old Dr Mahathir said 20% of oil royalties will be granted to oil-producing states. However, the next day, he said the funds would be derived from Petronas’ profit and not revenue.

His clarification raised concerns among East Malaysian politicians, including Parti Pesaka Bumiputera (PBB) vice-president Karim Abdul Rahman Hamzah, who said Dr Mahathir had got it all wrong.

Karim, who is also Sarawak’s tourism, arts, culture and sports minister, said PH’s manifesto clearly stated 20% oil royalty and not 20% profit.

Parti Warisan Sabah permanent chairman cum Federal Law Minister Liew Vui Keong, meanwhile, urged Petronas to define profit from royalty to avoid further confusion and anxiety.

Shafie was speaking at the unveiling of Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s (UMS) motto and logo on a MASwings ATR 72-500 aircraft today.

In his speech earlier, Shafie said the country should not be too dependent on oil resources, saying the tourism industry could also be a substantial source of revenue for Malaysia.

Present at the event were Sabah Education and Innovation Minister Yusof Yacob, UMS vice-chancellor Kamarudin Mudin and MASwings chief executive officer Aminuddin Zakaria. – July 21, 2018.