Don't forget us, See to Adenan

KUCHING, July 1, 2014: Chief Minister Adenan Satem has been urged to include Opposition State lawmakers as members of  the Sarawak team in the discussions with the Federal government and Petronas on the upward revision of the oil and gas royalties.

Sarawak PKR vice chairman See Chee How said this is because a motion, calling for the increase in the royalties from 5% to 20%, was unanimously passed at the May sitting of the State Legislative Assembly by the Opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Barisan Nasional State lawmakers.

See (picture, centre: Include us in the discussion

"Therefore, it is opportune for the chief minister to show that he is a chief minister  of all, that he is able to lead a strong non-partisan team, reflective of the mandate of the State Assembly, to discuss this most crucial matter with the federal government and Petronas," he said today.

Referring to the Pakatan Rakyat policy pledge and manifesto of revising the oil and gas royalties to 20%, See said that the percentage is  not a magic figure and not a mere populist rhetoric, but a realistic figure which is the outcome of cautious deliberation, the sum needed by the petroleum producing states particularly Sarawak and Sabah to accelerate infrastructural and social economic development in these two Borneo states.

He believed that Petronas and the federal government can afford to grant the request.

See expressed PR's disappointment that yesterday's briefing by “top Petronas officers” only involved the chief minister and some cabinet ministers.

"The presence of Opposition State lawmakers was necessary as they could raise challenging questions and argument on such issues of state territorial boundary, ownership and control of petroleum.

"I don’t know whether the highly gifted Petronas president and CEO  Shamsul Azhar Abbas was present at the briefing.

"I would certainly hope that our chief minister and his cabinet ministers had asked him about his highly contentious statement in the financial weekly, The Edge Malaysia, on the ownership and control of petroleum in Malaysia.

"We are also kept in the dark whether the chief minister and his state cabinet colleagues have raised such other important issues such as the demand for shares of equity and direct participation in the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) involving the exploitation and production of oil and gas and related products in Sarawak.

It is our understanding that the production sharing contract of MLNG 2 is up for renegotiation this year. It is certainly opportune for the chief minister  and his cabinet ministers to ask for a share of equity in this MLNG 2 and secure services and operation contracts for operators which are firms owned by Sarawakians to ensure that the state and our people will benefit directly from the oil and gas industrial activities carried out in the state.

On the possibility of Petronas assisting the state to develop education, See said that the state government should ask Petronas to set up a branch campus of Universiti Teknologi Petronas (Petronas Technology University) in Sarawak.

"This will ensure that more and better opportunities are given to Sarawakians for the pursuit of knowledge and expertise for the advancement of engineering, science and technology in the oil and gas industry and others," he said.