Ku Li to head oil royalty caucus

Veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has agreed to head the caucus to deliberate on the issue of petroleum and liquefied gas royalty, said Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Speaking to reporters in the Parliament lobby today, Anwar said Razaleigh, the Gua Musang BN MP, had given his consent this morning.

Pakatan Rakyat proposed the caucus last week, following premier Najib Abdul Razak's announcement that the federal government would make 'goodwill payments' from offshore oil operations to the PAS-ruled state of Kelantan from next year.

This saw opposition from Pakatan representatives, especially those from Kelantan, who said the federal government should pay the oil royalty and not make a goodwill payment to the state.

Razaleigh was not at the press conference today, but had told Anwar to make the announcement.

“This is a hot issue right now and I think Razaleigh, with his years of experience, will be able to help us,” said Anwar.

The caucus will also look into drafting an amendment to the Petroleum Development Act 1974.

“We have just circulated the draft. (Although) there is clear provision (as far as the original Act is concerned)... the ambiguity is (where it does) not specify the issue of territorial and offshore (borders),” said Anwar, the Permatang Pauh MP.

“We want to make it explicit in the law so that there is no interpretation that would run against the interests of the states. We will try to get the draft ready for debate during this parliamentary sitting.”

He also said he would inform Minister in the Prime Minister Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz (right) about the formation of the caucus.

“We have talked about it but we have to officially communicate over teh tarik (tea),” he quipped.

Anwar said other parliamentarians from across the political divide will be invited to join the caucus once it is set up.

“We will suggest that the caucus be represented by all parties - representatives from BN and Pakatan and representatives from the (oil-producing) states, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Sarawak and Sabah.”

The proposal for the caucus resulted from the government's refusal to budge from its position that oil is extracted beyond three nautical miles of Kelantan's territorial waters, and therefore the state is not entitled to royalty.

Mohd Nazri insisted, when winding up on points raised during the debate on the Supply Bill 2010 last week, that the term ‘royalty’ is not specifically cited in the agreement and the Petroleum Development Act 1974, in referring to the five percent from oil revenue paid to oil-producing states.

Nazri also argued that territorial boundaries and the definition are not stated in the agreement of 1974.

Pakatan platform ready soon

On a another matter, Anwar said the draft of Pakatan Rakyat's common platform is also well underway, and that all the component parties are engaged in the process.

He said that it will be ready before Pakatan's convention scheduled to be held next month.

“We have given our input and it will be drafted again to include our suggestions. The objective of the common platform is to explain our stand as Pakatan Rakyat,” Anwar reiterated.

“PKR, PAS and DAP will also scrutinise the draft on their own before coming up with the final product.