Zaid Ibrahim says Kelantan is facing discrimination from Umno
This breach of Agreement would in essence render the Federation Agreement that Kelantan signed on joining the Federation as null and void and Kelantan can follow Singapore’s move who left the Federation on 9th August 1965.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Former Umno leader and law minister Zaid Ibrahim has revealed that Kelantan is facing discrimination from the Federal Government because PAS and not Umno is in power in the state. He urged the Kelantanese to kick out PAS and vote for Umno if they want to receive the RM20 billion oil royalty owed to the state by the government.
This is the first time someone has openly admitted that Kelantan is being denied its 5% oil royalty not because the oil is outside Kelantan territorial waters but because PAS and not Umno is running the state.
“This is a big amount that the federal government owes the people of Kelantan. This royalty is based on a legitimate agreement between the federal and state governments in 1975,” said Zaid, which he estimated to be RM20 billion or so.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the same thing about 30 years ago when he froze all aid to Kelantan. Even the RM600 million promised earlier for its water supply when the state was under Umno was cancelled. Dr Mahathir said Kelantan will get Federal help only when Umno is back in power in the state.
This is actually a violation of the Federation Agreement where it states development aid, grants and federal loans are a legal obligation under the terms of Kelantan joining the Federation of Malaya (Persekutuan Tanah Melayu) in 1948. It also violates the Agreement that Petronas and Kelantan signed in 1975 under the Petroleum Development Act.
This breach of Agreement would in essence render the Agreement that Kelantan signed on joining the Federation as null and void and Kelantan can follow Singapore’s move that left the Federation on 9th August 1965.
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(FMT) – Kelantan folk will be able to enjoy the payment of oil royalties from the federal government if PAS is booted out from governing the state in the next general election (GE15), says former law minister Zaid Ibrahim.
Zaid said he was confident that Kelantan would be paid the oil royalties if Umno were to return to power in Putrajaya, adding that he had submitted suggestions to the party’s leadership on how to develop the state’s oil and gas industry.
Describing the matter as the main issue for the people of Kelantan, he said the demand for 5% of the petroleum revenue derived from the state since 1975 involved an estimated RM20 billion.
“This is a big amount that the federal government owes the people of Kelantan. This royalty is based on a legitimate agreement between the federal and state governments in 1975,” he said in a statement today.
Zaid said he did not understand why PAS had retracted its oil royalty suit against Putrajaya in 2019 just because the federal government was giving it RM400 million, since the state was entitled to more than that.
Should Umno take over the Kelantan government, he said, a petroleum company would be formed in the state, creating thousands of job opportunities while establishing the state’s oil and gas industry.
He said the oil royalty payments from Putrajaya could be used to develop the state and ensure clean water supply for all.
Zaid pointed out that Sarawak had been successful in demanding for its oil royalties, which were used to repair schools and build housing units and hospitals in the rural areas.
“Conversely, Kelantan’s leaders are satisfied with getting a ministerial post and a Toyota Vellfire or Alphard. They don’t care about the people’s poverty. It’s time Kelantan voters find a way out from their suffering,” he said.
He also said only PAS or Umno would be able to win the hearts of the voters in the east coast, dismissing Pakatan Harapan’s chances of governing the state.
