Ku Li: “We demand what is rightfully ours”
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has thrown his weight behind Kelantan’s claim for oil royalties in an address to a capacity crowd at the Kota Bharu stadium tonight.
“The oil royalty is not about the federal government’s charity payments but the sovereign rights of the states within our Federation,” he said. “I stand here representing only myself. I am here upon principle.”
“One evening Tun Razak called me and asked me to form a body to manage this oil for the benefit of the people,” he recalled.
Razaleigh went on to describe how Shell was brought to the negotiating table using the controlling share provision. “The formula I agreed with Rahman Ya’kub was generalised to all the other states.”
“If Sarawak is due her 5 per cent royalty, no less is Kelantan, by the same principle.”
“How are we to ask investors to have confidence in us if we can’t even keep contracts between ouselves!” he asked.
“The oil caucus I will lead is not just about oil. It is to re-examine the relationship between the states and the federal government.”
“Kelantan may be poor. But we are not beggars. We demand what is rightfully OURS,” he insisted.
