Ku Li takes oil royalty issue to Terengganu
(The Malaysian Insider) – Umno’s peaceful coexistence with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah will be tested severely when the veteran politician takes his oil royalty road-show to Terengganu tonight.
For the past few weeks, Umno leaders have stopped attacking the Gua Musang MP, concerned that verbal assaults will push him into arms of the opposition and provide Pakatan Rakyat with a strong leader should Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim be convicted of sodomy.
Umno leaders have also been treating the Kelantan prince royally in the past few weeks, even inviting him to sit at the main table during a briefing for BN MPs by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last week.
But the politician, popularly known as Ku Li, is slated to question why Putrajaya withheld oil royalty payments to Terengganu during the PAS reign in the state, and raise question on how the federal government used funds owed to the state government.
The founding Petronas chairman will bring these issues up at the oil royalty dialogue in the Terengganu Equestrian Resort in Kuala Terengganu after special prayers tonight.
The then PAS Terengganu government had sued Putrajaya when it stopped the 5 per cent oil royalty payments in 1999 when the Islamist party captured the state.
The federal government converted the oil royalty to a goodwill payment that was managed by federal agencies and Umno warlords with some of the money going to host the Monsoon Cup regatta and an Islamic Civilisational Park in Pulau Duyong complete with a number of mosques, including a crystal one.
Critics have complained the projects were a waste of money and the goodwill payments are a method for Umno to dole out largesse to their supporters.
