Said KeADILan information chief Tian Chua: “It is obvious that Umno-Barisan Nasional does not respect the peoples’ mandate. When PAS ruled, the BN frozed the oil royalties due to the people of Terengganu and caused many to suffer poverty and hardship. They defied and disrespected the wishes of the Terengganu people.”
The lawsuit was filed in 2000 by Pakatan Rakyat partner PAS, which had wrested control of the state from the Umno-led Barisan Nasional during the 1999 general election.
In the aftermath of the electoral defeat and in retaliation, ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad had unilaterally decided to stop the payments.
These were reinstated only after the 2008 general election, when Ahmad, with the backing of the Sultan of Terengganu, persuaded Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to do so.
According to Ahmad, national oil firm Petronas will be paying Terengganu twice a year. The state is due to receive five percent royalty from oil revenue that is raised in Terengganu each year.
“Under our arrangement with Petronas, they are suppose to pay us twice a year - in March and in September,” Ahmad, who is Kemaman Umno division chief, had said late last week.
At least RM1.6 billion left that is unpaid and unaccounted for
However, he did not mention about the outstanding arrears due to Terengganu from 2000 to 2007, nor whether a proper accounting and public audit would be carried out before formally rescinding the suit in March.
Although Mahathir later on agreed to pay Terengganu the funds - renamed goodwill payments - through BN agencies, there is insufficient data to tell if the state has received what is fully due to it.
When the BN recaptured Terengganu in 2004, the federal government did not restore the royalty payment either.
However, KeADILan’s Tian revealed that based on disclosures made in Parliament, at least RM1.6 billion is still owing to Terengganu folk.
He said the federal government had told lawmakers a total of RM7 billion was paid to Terengganu from 2004 to 2007. This claim was however denied by former Terengganu menteri besar Idris Jusoh.
His bombshell forced Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Amirsham Aziz to admit that only RM5 billion was paid, meaning that RM2 billion was still outstanding.
Last month in a high profile ceremony, Najib handed over a RM400 million cheque to Ahmad Said that was reportedly the last installment of oil royalty due to be paid to Terengganu for 2007.
“Najib has only paid RM400 million, but what about the balance RM1.6 billion. That is a huge amount and it is still owing. It is now more than a question of who rules in Terengganu - what is most important is that the rights and the wealth of the Terengganu folk are duly and rightfully returned to them,” Tian said.
An opportunity for change
Kuala Terengganu, the state’s royal capital, is currently at the center of national interest. The parliamentary seat unexpectedly fell vacant in November after its MP, the late Razali Ismail, died suddenly.
An intense by-election contest is now being waged between the two main candidates - BN’s Wan Ahmad Farid and Pakatan’s Wahid Endut. Polling day is on Saturday, Jan 17.
Even Abdullah has flown into town ahead of schedule to help with the BN campaign, while Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim - who was there earlier - was swamped everywhere he went in the constituency.
Although, the north-eastern state is rich in natural resources especially petroleum, it was not too long ago the poorest among Malaysia’s 13 states.
It is still largely undeveloped, with large pockets of rural and even urban folk still surviving just above the poverty line. Infrastructure built in the past decades has been focused in a few key oil-producing districts. In the national prosperity ladder, Terengganu is now second from the bottom.
- Suara Keadilan
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