Noting that oil royalty issues cannot be looked at in isolation, Najib Abdul Razak today described promises by opposition leaders to increase oil royalty to up to 50 percent for Sabah as an election gimmick in view of the next general election.

The prime minister said that the royalty rates had to be viewed in the context of total government revenue and in terms of the percentage of budgetary allocations for Sabah as well as other states.

“If you take away 20 percent or 50 percent for royalty, it means that the allocation for the ministries meant for Sabah will be reduced,” he told the media after performing the ground-breaking ceremony for the RM4.5 billion Petronas Chemical Group Berhad’s Sabah Ammonia Urea (SAMUR) project in Sipitang today.

Najib is currently on a two-day working visit to Sabah.

Opposition figures including Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser Anwar Ibrahim had reportedly said he would increase Sabah’s oil royalty from five to 20 percent, while Dr Jeffrey Kitingan went even further by promising 50 percent.

Najib drew the attention of the media to the opposition’s other promises, such as reducing fuel prices, waiving PTPTN education loans and doing away with tolls.

“Where will they get the revenue to run this country? You can’t just promise something in isolation, you have to take everything in total context,” he said.

Najib said the Barisan Nasional government would provide sufficient allocation for the development of Sabah under various development and transformation schemes.

- Bernama