Najib must give firm commitment on oil and gas royalty to reciprocate Sarawak's support for his leadership

By See Chee How,

State PKR vice chairman and Batu Lintang State Assembly

 Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak must give Sarawakians a firm commitment on the 20% oil and gas royalty and a five-years plan to develop  Sarawak and Sabah to be at par with Peninsular Malaysia, together with his pledge for good governance, before seeking the allegiance of Sarawakians to support his leadership.

He must take heed of the statement by Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Adenan Satem that the development, progress and modernization that is accorded to the Peninsula Malaysia must also be given to Sarawak.

See Chee How

 

I would say that most, if not all, Sarawakians are with the Chief Minister, in his declaration that Sarawakians are all united in the purpose to prosper Sarawak and that Sarawak does not want to be regarded as a stepchild.

Indeed, the imbalanced and poor federal administration is the main cause of our dwindling political and economic sovereignty and lack of development and progress for Sarawak.

A better future of Sarawak will only be realized if all Sarawakians are in one voice, including all 25 Sarawak BN MPs, to safeguard and advance Sarawak’s dignity as an equal partner in Malaysia, and for the betterment of all Malaysians in the federation.

I can understand the frustration of the Chief Minister, that despite the strong mandate by Sarawakians given to the BN in the federal and state levels for the last 52 years, since independence, the federal government did not reciprocate with corresponding respect to Sarawak, evinced by the wider disparity in development and growth between Sarawak and other parts of the federation.

To seek the support of Sarawakians to his much criticized leadership, Najib must first make his commitment to meet the Sarawakian demand for the 20% oil and gas royalty for Sarawak.

With the GST that will rake in additional RM16 billion this year in revenue collection and more than RM20 billion each year as from next year, the federal government can easily afford the additional 15% oil and gas royalty for Sarawak which amounts to only RM6 billion a year.

In fact, such just compensation of 20% oil and gas royalty should be paid to the other petroleum producing states Sabah, Kelantan and Trengganu as from this year, to ensure that these states will immediately have the financial means to accelerate growth and development in these states, and bring themselves to be on par with other parts of the federation.

He  must also immediately reveal a clear 5-years plan and make financial allocation to develop the two Borneo states, especially the rural regions, to ensure redistributive justice in economy growth and enjoyment of such economic benefits from the Federation.

In addition, he must take notice that Sarawak is the state that has declared its stand to take integrity in governance seriously, and all Sarawakians take pride in it.

To show that Najib's leadership is deserving of the Sarawakian support, he must vow for integrity and honesty in his federal administration and publicly declare that his cabinet intends to immediately call for, institute and work with royal commission of inquiry, independent investigative bodies and agencies to look into the present complaints and flaws in his administration.