Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali today said there appears to be "serious conflict of interests" in the appointment of former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the adviser of national oil company Petronas since the company is believed to have funded most of the mega-projects undertaken by Mahathir during his years in power.

He said that since Petronas' accounts have never been transparently accounted for, Mahathir's appointment may be seen as an attempt to cover up "hanky panky" that has taken place in the past.

"Petronas has neither been fully transparent nor accountable with how it spends its money, especially in aiding and abetting Tun Mahathir to indulge in unproductive construction of mega-projects; in bailing out ailing crony companies and corporate figures; and in (making) excessive and wasteful spending on celebrations and conferences," Syed Husin said in a press statement.

The Keadilan leader said based on a "reliable estimate", as much as RM250 billion of Petronas assets may have been used up for such purposes.

To clarify the situation, Syed Husin said Petronas should be prepared to make a full, thorough and transparent accounting of all its expenditures to Parliament, especially for the period after 1980.

In addition, he said, "The best thing that Mahathir should have done was to decline the offer."

Mahathir's appointment as adviser to the national oil company was made public in an Utusan Malaysia report last week.

According to Petronas chairperson Azizan Zainul Abidin, the decision to appoint the ex-premier was due to his contribution to improving Petronas' international operations over the years.

The company currently operates in 34 countries, and secures an approximate 30 percent of its annual revenues through its overseas ventures.

Royalties dispute

On a related matter, Syed Husin also called on Petronas to be transparent in accounting for oil royalties which are in dispute between the company and the PAS-led Terengganu government.

"Much of the royalty is now being used for so-called wang ehsan (special payment) which is actually a device to boost support for Umno especially in Terengganu," he said.

The Terengganu government found itself short of more than RM850 million in royalties after Petronas withheld payment in Sept 2001 for petroleum obtained off the coast of the state for the first half of 2000.

The state government has since filed a lawsuit which is presently pending before the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Petronas, in its defence, claimed that it need not make any payment to Terengganu because the oil was obtained outside the state's territorial waters.

The government, in a separate defence, claimed further that all payments made since 1978 must be deemed simply as wang ehsan (special payment).