Once again, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has hit the nail on the head. This time, the Kelantan prince and founding chairman of Petronas pointed out the serious implications for Malaysia as a whole if the federal government does not honour agreements it signed with its own states.

Because of political expediency, the federal government is willing to

let the very fabric of the federation unravel.

Tengku Razaleigh ( below )was talking about Kelantan's right to its oil

royalties. We all learned in 6th Form that Malaysia is a federation

where each state has its own jurisdiction contained in the State List.

tengku razaleigh ku li interview 190309 07 When Petronas was formed, individual contracts were drawn-up with each state where their rights to oil were given up to Petronas in

perpetuity in exchange for 5% royalty payment per-annum.

It really does not matter if the oil was discovered off-the-coastal waters, the spirit of the contract demands that Petronas pay royalties to the states concerned.

As far as I know, this contractual obligation was adhered to until 1999 when Terengganu fell to the Opposition and the federal government decided to stop paying royalties directly to the state.

Instead, the money was channelled through a federal agency with the royalties becoming "wang ehsan", compensatory payments.

Gov't action morally repugnant

There is little doubt that the constitutional rights of the people of

Kelantan have been violated.

If the legally-elected state government cannot be trusted with royalties that belong to Kelantan, who can the federal government trust?

Therefore, the government cannot hope to dispel public perception that the decision to set aside its contractual obligation is politically motivated.

The federal government must realize that following the letter of the law whilst setting aside the spirit of the law renders agreements null and void.

So long as the rightfully-elected state government of Kelantan is not allowed to manage the funds directly, the impression is that the constitutional rights of the people have been violated.

In this case, according to one of the architects of the agreement, there is real cause for this negative impression. Thus, the federal government's action is not only morally repugnant, it is also illegal.

There is also an international dimension to this case. Whilst foreign investors are willing to close a blind-eye to the "canning" of Muslims for drinking alcoholic beverages, they cannot do business in a country where the government does not honour its own agreements.

This is especially true if we are going to be a high-income economy. How are we to attract highly mobile talent if we have a culture of not honouring our contractual obligations?

Might is right environment

I ngeh koo ham pas ceramah in kelantan 190508 02 n normal circumstances, the Kelantan state government can take its case to court. Unfortunately, by now, most Malaysians have come to realize that the courts cannot guarantee justice.

In some cases, the judge is so efficient that a defence is not required even when one's accuser demands proof. The judges may think they are dispensing justice but they forget that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done.

No civilized society can function with a government that does not respect and honour its word. There may be very strong arguments that free the government from its legal obligation to pay Kelantan its oil royalties.

Perhaps the payment of "wang ehsan" is one way the federal government can assuage its own conscience but the moral dilemma remains. In the meantime, we are one step closer to realizing that justice can only be had through the barrel of a gun, that might is right.

With this latest debacle in Kelantan, the federal government is making it very hard for Malaysians to take the law seriously. We certainly cannot respect a government that cannot even honour its own agreements with its own states.

This is surely the last nail in the 1Malaysia coffin for this proves without a doubt that there are some Malaysians more equal than others.

padi fields 230508 01 For those who attended BTN courses in the past, don't believe those trainers who allegedly said that the enemies of the Malays are Chinese Malaysians. This oil royalty case proves

them wrong.

One cannot help but hear the Malay saying "harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi".