Razaleigh offers to mediate in oil royalty issue

Gua Musang member of parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has offered to mediate in the oil royalty claims by Kelantan and Terengganu.

He said that as the person responsible for drafting the Petroleum Development Act 1974, he had a better insight into the rights of states to claim oil royalties.

He said the oil royalty issue would no longer arise if Petronas paid oil revenue to the two states.

Razaleigh, who is former Petronas chairperson, said this at a dialogue on oil royalty issue organised by the Majlis Pemuafakatan Rakyat Terengganu (Mampat) and Gerakan Bertindak Kembalikan Royalti Rakyat (Gegar), in Kuala Terengganu last night.

"I'm not criticising the federal government, only explaining what the law says about the issue," he said.

He also said that it would be up to the federal government to pay the "wang ehsan" (compassionate payment) to deserving recipients but said that Petronas should not shirk its responsibility to the two states.

Speaking to reporters later, he said, he was still weighing the invitation by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for him to head a special caucus on the Kelantan oil royalty issue.

- Bernama