A DECISION on the disbursement of 20% oil royalty as pledged by Putrajaya will be made within six months, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said.

He said the special cabinet committee that includes representatives from all oil producing states will find ways on how to fulfil the Pakatan Harapan (PH) promise.

“We are committed to fulfilling our promises, including raising the oil royalty from 5% to 20%. However, the methods must be agreed upon by all the states.

“We have agreed on 20%, but how it is to be implemented must have the consent of the state governments first, according to the Petroleum Development Act,” he told reporters after attending a PKR meeting in Penampang today.

Azmin mentioned this at a party function, although apparently not to Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal when the latter approached him on the matter earlier in the day.

Putrajaya is presently in talks with Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan and Terengganu over the oil royalty disbursement in a committee chaired by Azmin.

The process involves gathering the proposals and recommendations from the state governments in resolving the oil royalty debacle, he said.

Disagreements have risen over the formula when Putrajaya interpreted the royalty payment should be based on profit, not gross production as held by the states.

Azmin also noted the issue of oil royalty must also be in accordance to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the federal constitution.

However, he reiterated his concern that any decision will have to consider the country’s financial health and also the survival of Petronas.

“We don’t want Petronas to close operations because it failed to pay the 20% oil royalty based on net profit. All this must be discussed. No decision is made yet because consultations are ongoing now,” he said.

Meanwhile, Azmin accused the previous BN government of awarding contracts to inept Umno-linked contractors, leading to abandoned projects in public schools statewide.

He noted only 12% of the 83 projects given to the contractors to repair dilapidated schools in Sabah were completed as opposed to all 37 projects completed by the Sabah Public Works Department.

“The failure to complete the projects by Umno-linked contractors is a betrayal of our children’s future who are denied access to quality education,” he said. – September 15, 2018.