THE Ministry of Finance (MOF) is redrafting the policy and scope of “wang ehsan” or goodwill payments to the Kelantan and Terengganu state governments. 

Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan said redrafting the use of the funds aligns with the national agenda to reduce poverty in the two East Coast states. 

“However, petroleum revenue will be paid directly to the states if oil was discovered and obtained within the states’ territorial waters of 5.56km as measured from the low-water line as per the Territorial Sea Act 2012 (Act 750),” he said during the winding up of the debate on the motion of thanks for the royal address in Dewan Negara today.  

Ahmad Maslan said currently, the flow of “wang ehsan” to the Kelantan and Terengganu state governments was at the discretion of the federal government, seeing that no oil had been obtained based on the terms of Act 750. 

The deputy finance minister also revealed that “wang ehsan” payments in 2022 to Kelantan totalled RM344.60 million, while Terengganu received RM1.69 billion. – Bernama, March 27, 2023.