The federal government has yet to make a decision on the RM1-billion royalty claimed by the Kelantan government as its share of the revenue from the oil extracted from two areas offshore Kelantan, Deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek Hussin said today.

"The two areas are located far from the Kelantan coast. As such, it is more appropriate that the revenue from the oil should go to the federal government for use in national development instead of expending it only in Kelantan," he told reporters today.

Awang said one area was in international waters close to Vietnam and 250km off the Kelantan coast while the other was in the common waters of Malaysia and Thailand 150km offshore Kelantan.

The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of a country extends up to 200 nautical miles (about 370km) offshore.

Kelantan staked a claim for the oil royalty in June when it sought RM1 billion from the federal government for what it said were arrears owed since 2004.

In early August, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said the issue of oil royalty payment to the Kelantan government was still under study.

- Bernama