Information Communication and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim said today he was shocked at the change in the stand of former finance minister, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, that Kelantan had the right to receive oil royalty compared to his earlier stand.

 

Rais said that Razaleigh's statement on Thursday that the Kelantan state government should now get the oil royalty instead of compassionate payment was contradictory to the statement made in October 2000, and his latest statement had confused the people, especially those in Kelantan.

Rais was commenting on Razaleigh's statement on the oil royalty issue in his speech at the special prayers and special ceramah on the petroleum royalty at the Stadium Sultan Mohamed IV, Kota Bahru, Kelantan on Thursday, which was also attended by Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

azlan On Oct 31, 2000, the media quoted Razaleigh as saying that in terms of the law, states in peninsular Malaysia did not have any right on the oil found outside the jurisdiction of their administration.

Rais said Tengku Razaleigh's statement in 2000 was very clear that all states in the peninsula did not have any right under the Petroleum Act 1974, and "when Ku Li changed his stand two nights ago, it is most surprising how he could change his actual stand expressed in late October 2000 in front of thousands of people."

rais yatim pc 020709 01 "For states thinking of making claims on the oil royalty as Kelantan is doing, they have no right under any Petroleum Act as they (oil wells) are in international waters where the federal government had the right.

"This is the position of the international law as well as the national law. The Petroleum Act is different from the provisions under the Continental Shelf Act where Sabah and Sarawak are subjected to," he said.

Kelantan Umno ‘regretted’ Ku Li’s speech

"I did not expect he could ignore Umno's official stand because he is collaborating with the opposition pact in Kelantan. This situation is also confusing to the Umno members.

"It will not be a problem if he wants to be an intermediary, but I hope he will not submit views and opinions on behalf of PAS and the opposition parties because he is still the Gua Musang Umno division head, and I hope the people understand the actual situation," he said.

Meanwhile in Bachok , Kelantan Umno liaison deputy chairman Dr Awang Adek Hussin said Kelantan Umno regretted the statement made by Razaleigh which contradicted the statements made in 2000 and 2001.

Awang said when Terengganu was administered by PAS from 1999 until 2004, the federal government had given compassionate payment to Terengganu in place of the oil royalty and Razaleigh, who was the former Petronas chairman, were among the leaders who had strongly supported the federal government decision.

"The demand by the Kelantan government under the PAS leadership for oil royalty instead of the compassionate payment is similar to the demand made by Terengganu under the PAS government then," he told reporters after a function in Tangok, near Bachok.

- Bernama