Of MM : Royalty or wang ehsan...pass the buck to the people's govt

Why not go for it, Mustapa and Rais? Afterall, the judiciary has declared Zambry is the legal MB of Perak and the judge has already dismiss Anwar's appeal to set aside the sodomy charges. One more act to deny Kelantan and Terengganu from their rightful claim of cash payment (or compassionate funds or oil royalty) is nothing to BN. where everything can do...

MM? Yes, this time we will talk about MM. Not the M&M that will melt in your mouth and not in your hands. Not the other MM who hails from Kedah but this MM is from the east coast and used to be Idris Jusoh's boss years ago...nope, it's not Mickey Mouse, either :). This MM is Mustapa Mohamed.

TV3 news on 20th Feb 2010 cover the NGO-sponsored talks on Kelantan's oil royalty with Mustapa Mohamed and Ibrahim Ali as their guest speakers. Mustapa pledged that the government will reveal the truth by publishing in MSM the next day why Kelantan do not qualify for oil royalty. And true to form, most Malay newspapers carry out a full-page ad on the issue which summarily mentioned :-

1. The oil and gas are extracted from waters beyond the three nautical miles limit prescribed as territorial waters under Malaysia's emergency ordinance 1969;
2. Anything extracted beyond the three nautical mile limit belongs to the federal government;
   
3. Kelantan or any other states in peninsular Malaysia are not entitled to the royalty money as the oil and gas wells are found beyond the three nautical mile limit;
4. Oil royalty payments to Sabah and Sarawak was due to agreements made prior to 1974 and through continental shelf act 1966;
5. Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaysia in 1963;
6. The term oil royalty does not appear on Petroleum development act, what appear is cash payment;
7. The aid is given based on federal government's care towards awareness and responsibility;
8. The federal government is offering RM20M compassionate payment due to gas being extracted in Malaysia-Thailand joint development area;
9. The Government argued that Tg Razaleigh's views are his own personal view and not facts of the matter under relevant laws;

How convenient! Mustapa Mohamed use the stage to dismiss Kelantan's claim and Rais "I burnt the bridge" Yatim follow through with full-page ads in Malay newspapers. Zaid Ibrahim has something to say to Mustapa Mohamed here.

I will let Rais "bridge burner" fight it out with Zaid Ibrahim on legal turf. Let's look into the ad. I say :-

1. What happens prior to 1969? What is the limit of territorial waters for Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and the rest in Peninsular Malaysia? What is the limit of territorial waters for Sabah and Sarawak? What if the territorial waters overlap with federal government?;
2. If anything extracted beyond the three nautical mile belongs to Federal government, then why is the federal government disbursing Terengganu with oil royalty, wang ehsan, cash payment? On what grounds is Terengganu eligible for the monies?;
3. If the oil and gas wells are not in Terengganu waters, why is Terengganu called "Kuwait of the east"?;
4. If Terengganu and now Kelantan is given the "compassionate fund" as aid out of federal government's care towards awareness and responsibility, why isn't the same given to other "poor" states like Perlis, Kedah and for that matter Pahang?;
5. If Kelantan is offered with RM 20M compassionate payment due to gas extracted in Malaysia-Thailand joint development area, why is Terengganu granted more fund when Terengganu is not within the joint development area?;
6. If Tg Razaleigh's views are his own personal view, why didn't BN rope Tg Razaleigh in and de-brief him on the actual fact? Isn't Tg Razaleigh one of the person responsibile to draft the Petroleum development act? Isn't he one of the signatories?;
7. Is the federal government claiming that Tg Razaleigh has erred in his judgement? Is the federal government admitting that Tg Razaleigh might be senile to the extent that he no longer knows and understand the spirit of Petroleum development act which he signed in 1970's?
8. What is the spirit of the Petroleum development act? Is it to compensate the states for oil and gas wells? And if it is cash payment, is Terengganu paid in cash for the oil and gas wells?;
9. Ibrahim Ali was quoted to challenge the PAS-led Kelantan government to sue the federal government regarding the oil royalty issue. May I add that PAS-led Terengganu state government had previously sued the federal government for withdrawing the oil royalty payment but the suit was later retracted when BN reclaimed Terengganu back from PAS;
10. Why was the Terengganu state government suit retracted by BN-led administration of Idris Jusoh? Why couldn't Idris and the federal government let the court decides on the actual legal standing on oil royalty, compassionate funds, cash payment? Is there something there which BN wanted to stay hidden?;
11. If the compassionate fund is for the well being of Kelantan people, why is the federal government entrusted to disburse the money? Why couldn't the federal government disburse the money to Kelantan state and monitor the spending? Is it meant for Kelantan BN's political funds?
    

The more I read it, the more I feel sorry for both Mustapa Mohamed and Rais "I burnt the bridge" Yatim. Both are pawns to the ruling party. Mustapa Mohamed is a thoroughbred Kelantanese and to stay relevant, he has to cross swords with Nik Aziz and Tg Razaleigh. Mustapa Mohamed has to do so because Annuar Musa is still lurking in the backgrounds, waiting to plunge the "kapak kecil" and ends Mustapa's political life in Kelantan. For that, Mustapa has to turn to Ibrahim Ali but Ibrahim Ali himself is self-suffocating in Pasir Mas due to his Perkasa stand. As my neighbour said it, Ibrahim Ali needs UMNO more in GE13 so that he can stand and defend his MP'ship. But will UMNO let Ibrahim Ali stands as an independent with UMNO's blessings? What will happen to all those hard-working Pasir Mas UMNO members? Will they be sacrificed to make way for Ibrahim Ali?

Rais"I burnt the bridge" Yatim has proven again that he will do whatever it takes to please the boss. First, he use our money to splash the full-page ad. Why Malay newspapers? Why on Sunday? Didn't Rais realised that MSM has been taking a beating from alternative news long time ago? The only reason I purchased sunday papers is for its cartoons...Is it worth the money? Is it meant to educate Kelantanese or meant as another propaganda tools for the masses? Rais is willing to forego his old boss (Tg Razaleigh) just to prove that he is an obedient pet. Do Rais thinks that by being obedient, he will be rewarded? Does Rais thinks that the full-page ad can put KJ at bay?

Call it what you want - compassionate fund, royalty money, cash payment, I don't care. I am still waiting for Petronas's clarification on the matter. Muhyiddin has promised that Petronas will respond to Kelantan's oil royalty claim during Kelantan by-election. Up to now, Petronas, with the new CEO's appointment, has not responded. Is Petronas, by being silent, admitting that Kelantan deserve the cash payment? Let us not kid ourselves much longer. If Federal government is damn sure that Kelantan (and for that matter Terengganu) do not deserve the oil royalty money (cash payment), then why not the federal government initiate a suit in court to declare that statement? Is it too difficult to do? I am sure Rais "I burnt the bridge" will lap to this opportunity so that he can be finally seen as a hero to his political masters - and Mustapa Mohamed will be more than willing to shed his Kelantan dialect (and customs) so that he can jointly agree to declare that Kelantan do not deserved any funds from the gas and oil wells.

Why not go for it, Mustapa and Rais? Afterall, the judiciary has declared Zambry is the legal MB of Perak and the judge has already dismiss Anwar's appeal to set aside the sodomy charges. One more act to deny Kelantan and Terengganu from their rightful claim of cash payment (or compassionate funds or oil royalty) is nothing to BN. where everything can do...


Till then...G'nite M'sia...wherever u are... Read More

D N41 T -5 : Muhyiddin, now pass the bucks around...

Oil n Gas in Kelantan? Click here

"In the agreement, the Federal government could take the oil and gas but is liable to pay royalty in cash twice a year in the months of March and September,"

(The oil and gas activity is located about 150km off Kelantan shores and is jointly developed with Thailand. The area is a disputed by Thailand and Malaysia.)

"Sabah's oil is found 210km off its shores and Terengganu's oil and gas activity is 220km away. How can they be entitled to royalty and Kelantan doesn't get any," Husam Musa - Kelantan EXCO member

1. On T-7, Muhyiddin makes the statement " The buck stops here". 2 days later, Muhyiddin is "passing the bucks". So what does that make Muhyiddin? A traffic police, directing the bucks around?
2. What is it about this time? Well, as early as 1980's, there were rumours circulating about oil and gas reserves off Kelantan's coast. lately, it is said that the rigs started operating in 2004. It is currently believed that the Kelantan rig known as Cakrawala is producing 6,000 barrels of natural gas daily which are then routed to Songkla for processing. Financially, that will roped in Rm 500 K daily. Blogger Malaysian waves claimed that Kelantan should, if eligible to 5 % oil royalty, earned to the tune of RM 180M yearly. Work that for 5 years and you get a whopping RM 0.9 B (Husam Musa round it up to RM 1B).
   
3. Shooting off from thereon, it may just be the reason why Nik Aziz wrote a letter to 1M PM6 requesting the royalty. And this, my friends is one of the core issue in Manek Urai by-election - Do Kelantan has the rights for oil royalty?
4. Husam Musa, in one of his ceramah during Manek Urai's by-election, claimed that there is an agreement signed in 1975 pertaining to oil and gas between Kelantan state government and the federal government (which was then represented by Tg Razaleigh Hamzah).
5. International Trade & Industry minister, Mustapha Mohamed dismiss the allegation as a non-issue. The question now is - if it is a non-issue, why is Muhyiddin Yassin aka 1M DPM instruct Petronas to answer claims over Kelantan oil royalty?
6. In Muhyiddin's statement, as reported by STAR datelined 9th July 2009, Muhyiddin :-
   • instructed Petronas to answer claims on oil royalty to Kelantan;
   • gave 48 hours for Petronas to clarify the allegations;
   • gather that the offshore areas are outside the state borders (belongs to federal administration);
   • claimed that most of Petronas profits re-channeled back to the government;
   • claimed that Petronas provide RM 20 ~ 30B per annum to development cost for the whole country, which directly or indirectly brings benefits to Kelantan;
   • directed KESEDAR (Kelantan Development Authority) to list all roads, bridges and infrastructure completed in the past few years;
   • claimed that the poverty level in southern part of Kelantan is higher, if not for KESEDAR.
     

7. Since both sides has put their claims, the first question will be - Is Tengku Razaleigh around? He should be and furthermore he should be on campaign trail for BN's candidate in Manek Urai. Why didn't Muhyiddin enlist his help to clarify matters? Tengku Razaleigh is said to be part of the signatory and he was Petronas Chairman back in 1975. He should be the best person to clarify the statement and its implications.
8. If Sabah's and Terengganu's offshore rigs are 210 and 220 km away (as compared to Kelantan offshore rigs of 150 Km) are eligible for the oil royalty, why not Kelantan? If it is in the disputed Thailand-Malaysia border, Kelantan is still the border state between Malaysia and Thailand. So it is still eligible for consideration to get the oil royalty. Do Malaysia has new state there? If yes, when did the state joined Malaysia? Mustapha Mohamed should make the statement clear. Do we have or don't we have the agreement between federal government and Kelantan regarding the oil royalty?
9. 48 hours is not that long. Can we expect Petronas to clarify the issue latest by 11th July 2009 (which happens to be on Saturday?).
10. Muhyiddin should quantify how much the Federal government alocated projects for Kelantan. And who controls the budget? If Kelantan deserved the oil royalty, will the federal government channel the royalty money to Kelantan state government? Or will there be another "wang ehsan" case applicable like those applied to Terengganu when the state was governed by PAS in 1999?
    
11. As has been said countless times before, it is the federal government's responsibility to provide all the basic necessities. Listing out past projects is not answering the issue. Has the federal government done sufficiently enough and fairly in distributing projects for Kelantan?
    
12. Whilst preparing this posting, this scribe chanced upon a statement by Mahathir Mohamed some years back that Mustapha Mohamed is one of the vocal voices who openly requested the federal government to shut the door on Kelantan and stopping projects in Kelantan. Is this true? Mustapha Mohamed should defend his position and since the accusation is done by Mahathir Mohamed, once UMNO supremo, it should be clarifies by Mustapha Mohamed. Has he betray the trust given to him by Kelantan voters?
13. The Kelantan oil issue will not go away or blown away. BN must answer to the rakyat. And BN must explain to the rakyat why the double standard if Kelantan is denied the oil royalty. Is BN prepared to do that?
14. Muhyiddin has said the bucks stop here in Manek Urai. Yes, the bucks has stopped but why is Muhyiddin passing the bucks to Petronas (to answer on Kelantan oil royalty issue) and KESEDAR (on roads, bridges, infrastructure projects)? Muhyiddin should do the answering and if need be, drag Tengku Razaleigh along to explain. But then again, can Muhyiddin request Tg Razaleigh to tag along? Could he? Will he?
15. Will Tengku Razaleigh surfaces to tell his side of the story on the account of Petronas-Kelantan agreement? UMNO has bumped off Tengku Razaleigh many times before. Will Tengku comes out and clarify the agreement and Kelantan oil issue? If Tengku is willing, will he be standing in BN's camp or PR's camp? Who knows? He may be standing side by side with Zaid Ibrahim to explain the Kelantan oil issue.
    
16. It's getting hot in Manek Urai and the oil issue has not been extinguished....yet. UMNO claims that they are the champion for the people, is UMNO really championing for the people or for its own political survival? Manek Urai is demanding answers and UMNO better come up with plausible explanation.
17. Remember, Petronas has Kelantanese employees too so Petronas better spilled out the truth or else someone will possibly spill the beans...and UMNO may be swept off its feet with the spilled beans.
18. I sense Manek Urai is slipping from BN (read UMNO). Actually, it was never theirs in the first place, although it was temporarily "loaned out" to UMNO in 2004...and that's good news for PAS. One word of advise though, PAS should never let their guards down...at least, not in the land of kapok kecik.
    

Till then...G'nite M'sia...wherever u are... Read More