SARAWAK has rejected the state Pakatan Harapan’s offer of a new and improved oil payment, dismissing it as a stalling tactic.

State PH chairman Chong Chieng Jen announced the offer at a press conference in Parliament today, saying oil and gas royalties will be retained at 5%, and Sarawak will get an additional 20% off oil profits.

However, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office Abdullah Saidol questioned if Chong is qualified to make the offer, saying PH at the federal and state levels are “not on the same wavelength”.

“It looks like Sarawak PH and PH federal ministers are not communicating well, and that doesn’t give any credibility to Sarawak PH’s ‘New Deal’.”

He said before the state could seriously consider the offer, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad must make it official.

The original PH offer was for 20% oil royalty, 50% of all federal taxes collected in the state, and autonomy in education and healthcare.

Chong, who is also deputy domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism minister, said “it was even agreed in the (PH election) manifesto, that if oil and gas companies cannot afford to pay the full 20% royalty, the federal government will top up the shortfall”.

He said this is “in line with Sarawak PH’s state autonomy agenda”.

However, Abdullah dismissed the top-up as unlikely.

“Do you really expect Sarawakians to believe that the PH federal government will top up the shortfall if the 20% royalty cannot be paid in full?” he said, asking Chong to “please stop insulting Sarawakians”.

“My advice to Chong and (state) PH leaders is, please do Sarawakians a favour by recommending to the PM to grant 20% royalty, which should not be derived from profits, but from the value of production.

“When do you plan to do that, rather than wasting time coming up with all sorts of bluff deals?”

Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru supreme council member and information chief Bobby William slammed Chong for “talking as if he is not a Sarawakian any more”, for being willing to compromise the state’s rights in offering the “New Deal”.

“PH is making it sound as though the state’s oil and gas, and also the (proposed) sales tax, belong to the federal government entirely… they are clearly not at all.” – July 30, 2018.