Veteran parliamentarian Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah today reminded those who cautioned him against participating in an oil royalty caucus mooted by the opposition that he is capable of deciding for himself.

"I don't have to think too much about it... I am aged, an adult (and) I can think," he told reporters in the Parliament lobby.

NONE The Gua Musang Umno MP was responding to Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's remark that Razaleigh should think carefully whether to accept the invitation by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

"It is better that Razaleigh carefully analyses (his decision) because even though it involves the state of Kelantan, (the caucus) is sponsored by the opposition and Anwar himself is behind it," Muhyiddin had said.

The deputy premier added that it was not a common policy for Barisan Nasional legislators to partake in such a caucus.

Razaleigh was involved in drafting the Petroleum Development Act in 1974. He was the then finance minister and the first chairperson of national oil company Petronas.

The Umno politician's personal stand is that the oil royalty belongs to the people.

This is about national interest

"What does principles have to do with it? We are taking about national interest," he said.

"(The Public Accounts Committee) PAC chair is member of BN, his deputy is (from) DAP. Back then when there was a body on the United Nation’s human rights, (Mohd) Nazri (Abdul Aziz) was the chair and (Lim) Kit Siang was the deputy. What is wrong with it?" he asked.

Razaleigh also stressed that he wants fair representation from all parties.

"There wasn't any misunderstanding, I think he (Muhyiddin) probably didn’t get what I was telling him properly.

"I have not accepted or rejected the invitation so let me consider it. But I would like to have fair representation of MPs from all states, particularly oil producing states," he said.

tengku razaleigh.jpg Razaleigh explained that there was no urgency in him giving an answer or in setting up the caucus as when the outcome of the caucus is agreed upon by the federal government, the royalty has to be backdated from the time of petroleum exploration in the concerned states.

"I don't think anybody (would) lose except that the government should honour and respect the agreement that was signed. Similarly Petronas must carry out its obligation," he said.

"There was no wang ehsan (goodwill payment) in the agreement, I made the agreement and there was no wang ehsan. Wang ehsan is for those who are begging for alms. This is the public's right," he added.

Anwar's private members' bill

Meanwhile, Anwar, who had earlier stated that Razaleigh had agreed to head the proposed caucus, explained today that he was mistaken, adding that Razaleigh had accepted the offer only in principle.

"It was not only suppose to be the three parties (referring to PKR, DAP and PAS) but also from Sabah, Sarawak and some other parties. That was his understanding.

NONE "So I thought he accepted in principle given the understanding that there will be other members," said Anwar.

"But now since Umno has instructed that no other Umno MP should participate... Razaleigh probably needs some time," he said.

Anwar stated that he has yet to meet with Razaleigh after the meeting last week due to the long weekend and the Hari Raya Haji holiday.

He also said that he had written to the House speaker on his private members' bill to amend the 1974 Petroleum Development Act.

The amendment is to offer clarity to the term 'offshore' as it was not define precisely in the Act. The proposed amendment would also make Kelantan eligible for oil royalty for oil extracted from its shores.

"The current controversy surrounding the issue of royalty from oil extraction activities offshore the states of Malaysia arises due to the ambiguity surrounding the word 'offshore' in the Petroleum Development Act 1974.

"The three nautical mile boundary only came to the picture by way of inference - due to the ambiguity of the definition of the word 'offshore'," said Anwar in his private members' bill.

He said that he had consulted Razaleigh and former lord president Salleh Abas who was involved in drafting the Act in 1974 before proposing his amendments.

"I will personally write to all the MPs from Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu, Kelantan and even neighbouring states like Pahang which claims to have an interest in this... we will see if they want to protect the state or not," he said.