Referring to Mahathir’s recent statement that every oil producing state would receive a 20% share of profits, Zainnal said the prime minister apparently believed that oil and gas found in the country did not belong to the states but to the federal government.
He said he was dismayed by the silence from Sabah and Sarawak MPs. They should have asked the prime minister to clarify his statement, he added.
Last Thursday, Mahathir announced in Parliament that the federal government would provide 20% royalty to oil producing states, but he told reporters afterwards that he meant 20% of profits.
Zainnal said he believed the silent MPs either did not know the difference between royalties and cash payments or were too afraid to speak up.
“If that is so, then we’re in trouble,” he said.
Zainnal, who heads a research body for the Sabah government, claimed that the federal government lost its jurisdiction over the waters of Sabah and Sarawak in 2011, when a state of emergency was lifted.
Therefore, he said, Putrajaya no longer had any right to dictate how much the states could have from the proceeds of mining in their territories.
“Attempts to introduce the Territorial Sea Act so that the federal government can say it owns whatever is beyond three nautical miles from the state are attempts to steal,” he said. “There is no other word for that.”
He said MPs from Sabah and Sarawak should be aware that the people were monitoring to see what they would do about the issue.
He pointed out that many social media users in East Malaysia had accused Mahathir of going against the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63).
“This shows that Sabahans and Sarawakians understand the MA63 quite well,” he said. “They know their rights. So, our MPs cannot afford to slip up.”
Mahathir got it all wrong on 20% royalty, says Sarawak minister
20% royalty promise does not fulfil people’s demands, says Sabah MP