By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the founding chairman of Petronas, has agreed to head the Parliamentary Caucus to be set up by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers to probe the oil royalty issue.
PKR de facto and Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today that Razaleigh (picture) had accepted the invitation in Parliament this morning.
The Caucus aims to draft amendments to the Petroleum Development Act to ensure that oil-producing states — including opposition-controlled Kelantan — receive royalties in line with the philosophy that constituted the Act in 1974.
“We will invite Barisan Nasional MPs to join the Caucus.. and will speak to (Minister in The Prime Minister Department) Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz about this over teh tarik,” Anwar told a press conference at the Opposition office in Parliament here.
Razaleigh’s involvement in the Opposition campaign to regain oil royalty for Kelantan formally started last Wednesday when he said that the state had the right to receive profit from its oil.
The Kelantan prince and former finance minister was one of the lawmakers involved in the drafting of the Act and the opposition have argued that the law was drafted to ensure that oil-producing states receive 5 per cent royalty.
He said that it was Kelantan’s “constitutional right” to receive them.
But Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said that Kelantan is not entitled to it as oil is extracted beyond the state waters or beyond three nautical miles from the shore.
This argument was again used as the government’s defence in not giving Kelantan royalty by the Nazri when pressed by the Opposition in Parliament last week.
Kelantan, which is under PAS control, will instead receive “goodwill payment” for their oil said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The announcement sparked an uproar among PR lawmakers, particularly those from PAS, who have been fighting to get oil royalty since 2001. The campaign was led by Kelantan state exco Datuk Husam Musa.
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