honouring our agreements
The Government has now responded to Kelantan’s claim to a portion of the profits derived from petroleum resources extracted offshore by PETRONAS.
Its response violates the letter and the intent of a solemn agreement signed between each State Government and PETRONAS under the Petroleum Development Act.
That agreement is made out in language simple enough for a schoolboy to understand, in both Bahasa Malaysia and English.
The Constitutional rights of the people of Kelantan are denied. However this has implications far beyond Kelantan:
1) It negates an agreement signed between the Kelantan Government and PETRONAS. By implication, it negates identical agreements signed by PETRONAS with every other state and deprives the people of their constitutional rights.
2) The Government’s refusal to recognize a straightforward contractual obligation on PETRONAS’s part puts a question mark over the status of oil payments due to the other oil-producing states. The States’ rights to 5% of profit derived from the extraction of any petroleum resources is based on a quid pro quo according to which the States vested entirely and in perpetuity all their rights and claims to petroleum resources to PETRONAS. In return for this PETRONAS is legally bound to pay the states the 5% directly
3) If PETRONAS no longer recognises its legal obligation to pay the States what is due to them under the Petroleum Development Act, the States, and in particular Sabah and Sarawak, will now wonder if the corresponding Vesting Deed by which they vested all their rights in their petroleum resources to PETRONAS remains in force.
4) The Government’s response substitutes for PETRONAS’s legal obligations under the Petroleum Development Act an arbitrary “compassionate payment” from the Federal Government. This casts serious doubt on the Malaysian Government’s respect for the sanctity of contracts and the rule of law. Let’s not talk about spurring investment to take our economy to a higher level if we fail to understand the importance of abiding by contractual obligations.
I helped craft and negotiate the Petroleum Development Act. As Chairman of Petronas, I signed separate and identical agreements in respect of these payments with each of the Mentris Besar of the States. I must insist that PETRONAS is bound by them and that the Federal government should not interfere in their fulfillment.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Member of Parliament, Gua Musang
–
I will discuss my response to the proposed parliamentary caucus on this issue in my next posting.
I last wrote on the issue of Kelantan’s right to oil payments in my letter to the Mentri Besar of Kelantan in July this year. PETRONAS was formed to unite the country under a single and simple formula for sharing the bounty of our petroleum resources. Any unraveling of this formula could have serious consequences for our Federation.
YAM Tengku,
Salam. I think that you should lead the proposed caucus as you have already reached the level of a national statesman, well respected by politician of every hue. You don’t need to prove anything anymore and don’t need to play to narrow political interests.
As you quite rightly pointed out, this issue is greater than the narrow BN punishing the non BN states by stealing the rakyats’s royalty money.
It is about the sanctity of contracts and the very foundation of our federation of Malaysia.
Please do what is RIGHT and history shall remember you as one who saved the federation.
qamari
November 29, 2009 at 10:05 am
Salam,
Go for it Tengku,
We are with you.
malloucius
November 29, 2009 at 12:37 pm
This is a government which neither honours contracts nor believe in the rule of Law as set out in Rukunegara.
There are legions of evidence of the above; from the Malaysia agreement with Sabah and Sarawak to start with, then the illegal Federal coup against the first Iban Chief Minister of Sarawak, to the trials and tribulations of the PBS Government of Sabah and its parallel in Perak which is still in evolution.
Crowning all that, the subversion of the Judiciary in 1989. Then too, a eerie Federal BN silence on the state violations of Sarawak NCR land, thus violating Native Customary Law.
Protection of Bumiputera rights, in the experience of Sarawak Dayaks, is wholesome political trash.
Nontheless, Kuli must be creditted in doing his best to restore Federal compliance with a legally binding agreement concerning oil royalty.
Non-Dayak, Kuching, Sarawak.
francisngu
November 29, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Tengku,
This is not the only agreement the govenrment has not abide.
When it comes to their cronies interest, like the IPP’s and highway concessionaires, they uphold the sanctitiy of the law and agreement.
When it come to the rakyat’s interest, the law and agreemens are non-binding and decisions are made in favour of the elites.
Even certain power puchase agreements were signed by the govenrment on behalf of tenaga Nasional Bhd.
I truly think this country needs three coalition of political parties, the third one being a coalition formed by and for the interest of the people of East Malaysia. If this happenend, hopefully nobody will have a 2/3 majority anymore and the desire to oppress will diminish.
since the Petroleum act has not been enforced by Petronas, that will mean the states getting 100% of their mineral rights, whicc is good news indeed, as there is too much power in the hands of federal govenrment. They decide even on commuter bus licenses for rural areas. No wonder public transportation is non-existant. There is no trust given to the locals to manage things.
sputjam
November 29, 2009 at 7:33 pm
“I will discuss my response to the proposed parliamentary caucus on this issue in my next posting.”
Does it mean Muhyiddin has succeeded in threatening you into rejecting the invitation?
Sir, you must stand up for TRUTH and it is your duty as a Kelantanese and one who stands up for Justice to defend TRUTH.
And the TRUTH is BN is reneging on its promise just because Kelantan is under PAS. It is punishing the people for exercising their right to choose the government of their choice.
You should not only accept the invitation to lead the caucus but join Pakatan or at least get out of UMNO and be Pakatan-friendly MP.
Anything less will mean lowly Muhyiddin is twisting your arms.
perakborn
November 29, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Dear YAM Tengku,
The rakyat other than those in Kelantan will wait with baited breath on the outcome of your reply.
“Will YB tow the UMNO/BN)party line or would YB answer to his conscience? ”
We pray that the good lord will guide you in your decision.
Wassalam.
1sos
November 30, 2009 at 12:16 am
Dear Tengku,
Malaysians in general and Kelantanese in particular support you on your chairmanship for the proposed parliamentary caucus .
The worst thing that can happen is they sack you from Umno like what happened to Dato Zaid Ibrahim for your participation in the caucus.
But why worry ?
You will always be welcomed by the component parties of Pakatan Rakyat to join them and this will be a blessing in disguise too (the sacking).
fair2
November 30, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Dear Tengku,
You must do whatever you feel is right and forget about the clowns trying to remind you of what BN MPs must do. Because of such threats many were afraid to challenge Mahathir whenever he did wrong. Mahathir has finished our judiaciary so what can be expected of PETRONAS which is under the control of the PM.
The voters are fed up of BN MPs supporting their leaders for the wrong things. You are the only exception in UMNO. So please go all the way to correct the wrong done in the past and and being done continuously by our leaders.
The rakyat will be with you. If UMNO leadership does not want you then they should have the courage to sack you rather than play with numbers and guidelines to ensure you do not get any nomination to be able to contest in UMNO. In actual fact there has been no change in UMNO after all the loud noise. They have not changed at all after the worst performance in the 2008 general elections and they will never change because of monetary gains.
The country badly needs change.
pinkpanther7
December 1, 2009 at 7:03 pm