Sarawak govt con­fi­dent it can sus­tain in­vestor con­fi­dence it reg­u­lates its own O&G in­dus­try

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Sarawak govt con­fi­dent it can sus­tain in­vestor con­fi­dence it reg­u­lates its own O&G in­dus­try

• 4 Oct 2019
• +1 more
• Lim How Pim

KUCHING: The Sarawak gov­ern­ment is ready to take over the helm of its oil and gas in­dus­try in the state if Pu­tra­jaya thinks the im­po­si­tion of the state sales tax (SST) on the in­dus­try will hurt in­vestor in­ter­est and con­fi­dence, an as­sis­tant state min­is­ter said yes­ter­day.

As­sis­tant Min­is­ter in the Chief Min­is­ter’s Depart­ment Shar­i­fah Hasi­dah Say­eed Aman Ghaz­ali said Sarawak has in place the nec­es­sary laws to reg­u­late the in­dus­try if the fed­eral gov­ern­ment does not think it could con­tinue to do so.
“If the Fed­eral Gov­ern­ment feels it is un­able to sus­tain in­vestor in­ter­est and con­fi­dence in the oil and gas in­dus­try in Sarawak, be­cause in­dus­try play­ers, in­clud­ing Petronas, has to pay an­nu­ally RM3 bil­lion of SST, the Fed­eral Gov­ern­ment should con­sider se­ri­ously al­low­ing the State to reg­u­late fully the in­dus­try un­der its Oil Min­ing Or­di­nance and Dis­tri­bu­tion of Gas Or­di­nance.

“If the Fed­eral Gov­ern­ment feels it is un­able to sus­tain in­vestor in­ter­est and con­fi­dence in the oil and gas in­dus­try in Sarawak, be­cause in­dus­try play­ers, in­clud­ing Petronas, has to pay an­nu­ally RM3 bil­lion of SST, the Fed­eral Gov­ern­ment should con­sider se­ri­ously al­low­ing the State to reg­u­late fully the in­dus­try un­der its Oil Min­ing Or­di­nance and Dis­tri­bu­tion of Gas Or­di­nance.
“The State Gov­ern­ment is very con­fi­dent that it is able to sus­tain in­vestor con­fi­dence, whether short or long term, in the oil and gas in­dus­try in Sarawak. This is am­ply demon­strated by the fact that for­eign oil com­pa­nies op­er­at­ing in Sarawak such as Shell, Mur­phy Oil, Per­tam­ina etc have paid the SST as­sessed up to date.
“Only Petronas has yet to pay,” said Shar­i­fah Hasi­dah, who is in charge of Law, State-Fed­eral Re­la­tions and Project Mon­i­tor­ing in a state­ment.
She made these re­marks in re­fut­ing an ar­ti­cle with head­line ‘Why the in­tro­duc­tion of the Pe­tro­leum Sales Tax in Sarawak may not ap­peal to Ev­ery­one’ pub­lished in the Malaysian Re­serve on Sept 30.

She made these re­marks in re­fut­ing an ar­ti­cle with head­line ‘Why the in­tro­duc­tion of the Pe­tro­leum Sales Tax in Sarawak may not ap­peal to Ev­ery­one’ pub­lished in the Malaysian Re­serve on Sept 30.
Shar­i­fah Hasi­dah said the ar­ti­cle con­tained a num­ber of in­ac­cu­rate state­ments re­lat­ing to Sarawak’s con­sti­tu­tional rights to levy SST on pe­tro­leum prod­ucts prin­ci­pally liq­ue­fied nat­u­ral gas (LNG), crude oil and con­den­sates.
“To be­gin with, the SST Or­di­nance 1998 was passed pur­suant to Ar­ti­cle 95B(3) of the Fed­eral Con­sti­tu­tion.
“The Ar­ti­cle reads ‘The Leg­is­la­ture of the State of Sabah and Sarawak may also make laws for im­pos­ing sales tax, and any sales tax im­posed by State law in the State of Sabah and Sarawak shall be deemed to be amongst the mater enu­mer­ated in the State List and not in the Fed­eral List’.
“There­fore, the State Leg­is­la­ture’s con­sti­tu­tional author­ity to pass laws on SST is not de­pen­dent on Ar­ti­cle 96 as con­tended in the Malaysian Re­serve,” she pointed out.

She said the right of Sarawak to pass laws on SST was in­cor­po­rated into the Fed­eral Con­sti­tu­tion pur­suant to the rec­om­men­da­tion in para 24(1) of Chap­ter III of the In­ter­Gov­ern­men­tal Com­mit­tee (IGC) Re­port which is an An­nex­ure to the Malaysia Agree­ment.
To ques­tion the state’s right to levy SST (which is a rev­enue as­signed to the state un­der Item 7 Part V of the Tenth Sched­ule of the Fed­eral Con­sti­tu­tion), ac­cord­ing to her, is there­fore a dis­guise to dis­hon­our the Malaysia Agree­ment and what is ex­pressly pro­vided in the supreme law of the na­tion as a source of rev­enue of Sarawak.
“The ex­er­cise of a right so clearly en­shrined in the Con­sti­tu­tion should not be de­pen­dent upon the out­come of the cur­rent dis­cus­sions on MA63 (Malaysia Agree­ment 1963) which should be fo­cused on mat­ters per­tain­ing to the ero­sion or recla­ma­tion of those rights which Sarawak is le­git­i­mately en­ti­tled to, un­der MA63.

“Why SST by State Gov­ern­ment? The Chief Min­is­ter has re­peat­edly ex­plained why SST needed to be im­posed. The State needed this ad­di­tional source to drive its de­vel­op­ment agenda.
“It must be pointed out that ac­cord­ing to pub­licly avail­able data, from 1976 to 2017, the to­tal rev­enues de­rived from the pro­duc­tion and sale of oil and gas within Sarawak ter­ri­tory amounted to RM660 bil­lion, of which only five per cent or RM33 bil­lion was paid to Sarawak,” she said.
As such, Shar­i­fah Hasi­dah said Sarawak had con­trib­uted very sig­nif­i­cantly to fed­eral cof­fers from its rich oil and gas re­sources since 1976.
All the nat­u­ral gas de­rived from Sarawak were con­verted to LNG for ex­port to Ja­pan, Korea and Tai­wan, earn­ing very sig­nif­i­cant for­eign ex­change for the Malaysian gov­ern­ment, she stressed.
Hence, she said the im­po­si­tion of SST on pe­tro­leum prod­ucts ‘is a dis­charge of the State Gov­ern­ment’s fidu­ciary duty to Sarawakians to seek a fairer share of the rev­enues from oil and gas pro­duced in Sarawak’.

Hence, she said the im­po­si­tion of SST on pe­tro­leum prod­ucts ‘is a dis­charge of the State Gov­ern­ment’s fidu­ciary duty to Sarawakians to seek a fairer share of the rev­enues from oil and gas pro­duced in Sarawak’.
“Based on the present pro­duc­tion rate of oil and gas in Sarawak and at cur­rent global oil prices, the amount is RM40 bil­lion an­nu­ally. The SST will yield ap­prox­i­mately RM3 bil­lion ad­di­tional rev­enues for the State.
“A er all these years of con­tribut­ing bil­lions of ring­git to fed­eral Trea­sury from the State’s pe­tro­leum re­sources, what is the ba­sis for the Min­is­ter of Fi­nance Mr Lim Guan Eng to say ( as re­ported in Malaysian Re­serve) that the State’s im­po­si­tion of SST to yield ad­di­tional re­serve to the State of RM3 bil­lion is un­rea­son­able,” she said.
With re­gard to al­leged loss of in­vestor con­fi­dence in the oil and gas in­dus­try in Sarawak due to im­po­si­tion of SST, Shar­i­fah Hasi­dah said it must be pointed out that ‘ trade, com­merce and in­dus­try’ are mat­ters un­der the fed­eral port­fo­lio (Fed­eral List).

With re­gard to al­leged loss of in­vestor con­fi­dence in the oil and gas in­dus­try in Sarawak due to im­po­si­tion of SST, Shar­i­fah Hasi­dah said it must be pointed out that ‘ trade, com­merce and in­dus­try’ are mat­ters un­der the fed­eral port­fo­lio (Fed­eral List).

To ques­tion the state’s right to levy SST is a dis­guise to dis­hon­our the Malaysia Agree­ment. Shar­i­fah Hasi­dah Say­eed Aman Ghaz­ali

The Borneo Post

4 Oct 2019

My comments:

Take legal action to deal with them.  When Ah Gou or Ah Mao  refuses (阿狗或阿猫) to comply to the payment of SST, the prompt legal action is always taken to deal to make him pay immediately.  It is always so effective and correct.  What the Sarawak government should do now is the same treatment to deal with Petronas.  Every concerned Sarawakian is watching and judging.  Yes, time has set and prompt action to be taken to sue them in the court.  If it doesn't work,  just declare Sarawak independent unilaterally to get rid of the trouble of Malaya colonial power.

Negaraku Malaya 4/10/2019

Negaraku Malaya  4/10/2019

        Will I stand up when Negaraky Malaya is played?  No, for sure, no!  Will you stand up to sing or show your respect to the national anthem of the imperialist and colonist?  Will you?  Yes or No!

        I know Tourism….Abdul Karim will and so will all the GPS-crowned political clowns.  School students, teachers and the government servants will as they are grounded to do so.  They have no choice when GPS-crowned political clowns bow to the authority of the Malaya imperialists and colonial masters. 

        Common Sarawakians like you and me are boiling with anger and disgust at the sight of the Malaya flag and sounds of Negaraku Malaya which stands for domination and colonization as they show no respect to MA63.  How can they expect respect from Sarawakians and Sabahans when they have breached all the trust of MA63 in the first place?

        Now, how can Sarawakians like S4S leaders who represent most of the common Sarawakians care about standing up to sing or show their respect to the pirate song?  No, for sure, no!  Respect, yes, “ is earned, not forced upon”.  Respect is also two sided. 

        Don’t force on us as Sarawakians and Sabahans are no longer so foolish and blind like ever before.  It is 2019 going to be 2020.  It is not 1920.  True democracy should rule.  The government which is really ‘by the people, of the people and for the people’ should realise herself in reality.  We, Sarawakians can no longer tolerate the Malaya imperialists and colonists to plunder, exploit, oppress, suppress, rob and bully Sarawak anymore. 

        We know how unreliable and tricky GPS-crowned political clowns are to protect Sarawak to gain her independence.  Tourism….Abdul Karim is a very good respresentative of disloyalty to Sarawak.  It is understood that PDA 1974 and 1976 degrading Sarawak and Sabah into a 12^th and 13^th states are unconstitutional and against the international laws.  I wonder when GPS-crowned political clowns will repeal the Acts PDA 1974 and Degrading Act 1976. 

PH-crowned political clowns, I believe, are too traitors-prone to be trusted anymore and are clear to 99% of the Sarawakians, especially the Chinese.  We despise them for being so Malaya-minded, hearted and oriented to uphold the national status of Sarawak.  We have the video-taped record of  DAP Chong Chieng Jen’s comments on the Status of Sarawak.  He thinks it funny if Sarawak is considered as a country.  I wonder what he thinks about England, France, Germany and so on in the European Union.  Are there countries in the European Union?  Who is so funny and makes a fool of himself?

        Is Malaysia a country or a federation like European Union?  Malaya with the name changed to Malaysia is a country.  Sarawak is a country and Sabah is a country.  Malaya hiding behind the name of Malaysia has created the make-believe of Malaysia and in the process, messed up the equal partnership  to turn the countries Sabah and Sarawak into 12^th and 13^th states of Malaya and have colonised these two coooooooooooountries ever since. 

        Today, at least 90% of Sarawakians are wide-awake of these hidden facts despite the history of Sarawak and Sabah being more or less erased to facilitate the Big-plan of Malaya’s invasion and aggression to swallow up these two countries for their own use. 

        When Mahathir, this devil and all the PH-crowned political clowns declare to take over the power of Sarawak Dun, I believe 90% of Sarawakians feel exasperated and disgusted. 

        How can you force free loyal Sarawakians to stand up to sing the pirate song, Negaru Malaya?  It is idiotic to play Negaru Malaya and hold the pirate flag to say, “I love Malaysia=Malaya” the imperial and colonial country?  We only make fools of our children and ourselves if we allow ourselves to do so.

        I hope that Sarawak will gain her independence as soon as possible to relieve many Sarawakians to appear like fools.  May God/Allah bless Sarawak and her people.

My comments on PH Sarawak political thugs 1/10/2019

My comments on PH Sarawak political thugs  1/10/2019
theborneopost.com

PH did not promise oil royalty increase unconditionally - Chong | Borneo

KUCHING: Pakatan Harapan (PH) did not promise an increase of oil royalty from the present five per cent to 20 per cent unconditionally.

In pointing this out today, PH Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen said the Sarawak government would have to assume fiscal responsibility in education and health in order to receive the 20 per cent oil royalty.

He reminded all that PH had offered was an agreement to the state ruling coalition – then Barisan Nasional (BN) Sarawak and now Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) – before the 2018 general elections.

In that agreement, he said it was clearly stated under ‘Fiscal Decentralisation: Taxation & Public Revenues’ that PH would give 20 per cent oil and gas royalties or value equivalent as well as 50 per cent of all tax revenues collected in Sarawak back to the state if Sarawak took over autonomy in education and health.

“But Abg Jo (Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg) and GPS rejected this offer. They want the 20 per cent (oil royalty) to be used by them to their whims and fancies.

“That’s not what we offered and agreed. And Abg Jo has taken upon himself to negotiate with PM (prime minister). We don’t know why he (Abang Johari) rejected the offer,” he said after chairing the PH Sarawak meeting held at Democratic Action Party (DAP) headquarters here.

Chong, who is Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, stressed that the 50 per cent tax revenues and 20 per cent oil and gas royalties were ‘tied in together with education and health autonomy’.

He read out an excerpt from the agreement: “The Government of Sarawak shall use these funds (50 per cent of tax revenues and 20 per cent oil and gas royalties or value equivalent) to shoulder the fiscal responsibility of the Federal Government in EDUCATION and HEALTH.”

“The ball is now in the court of Abg Jo. He wants to negotiate with PM, that’s his decision and the mandate of Sarawakians given to him,” he said.

According to Chong, the Sarawak government was not asking for devolution of education autonomy from the federal government.

Given this, he said all the concern raised by GPS leaders on education issues ‘is playing to the gallery’ since they had no intention to have autonomy in education.

He said PH did not ditch their offer because it was GPS which rejected it.

On a note that Abang Johari said that he had submitted a new formula to Putrajaya, he responded: “It’s between him and PM.”

Chong said the agreement was not hastily done as PH had carried out studies and negotiations as well as obtaining feedback from the oil and gas sector.

On ‘value equivalent’, he said there was concern by the oil and gas sector that they might not be able to pay the amount as they could not predict the world crude oil price.

“Let’s say if the value is RM5 billion, and if they cannot pay, then the federal government will top up, this is value equivalent,” he explained.

At present, the five per cent oil and gas royalties to Sarawak is about RM1.5 billion a year.

Chong said a rough calculation indicated that the Sarawak government would receive about RM8 billion a year to take over autonomy in education and health.

“The expenditure on education and health is seven point something billion,” he added.

My comments:

These PH Sarawak DAP traitors especially always speak on behalf of the Malayan government.  DAP Chong Chieng Jen, especially too dog-like and too traitor-minded and hearted to protect the rights of Sarawak.  He is digging his own grave each time to express himself in public to lie on behalf of the Malayan imperialist.  He has more or less ended his political career.  I strongly believe that at least 99% of the Chinese are cursing him.

PH Sarawak political thugs are not expected to find all kinds of execuses for the plundering and exploitation of the Malayan government on the oil and gas resources and other revenues taken.  It is irrational and abusive on the part of the Malayan government to deny the payment for the minimum 20% of oil and gas royalties to the oil producing country.  Petronas, I can restassure saying that they won’t dare to deduct 0.05% of oil and gas royalties that they have the share in business dealings with other countries. 

Chong Chieng Jen should stop all the rubbish talk about other irrelevant and illogical comments on the said issues which he has repeated so many times.

The devil’s desires 30/9/2019

The devil’s desires  30/9/2019

        Mahathir, this bloody devil will never quench for blood.  He preaches for ‘sharing wealth’ which is one-sided.  He wants the wealth of Sarawak and Sabah to be shared with his family and Malaya. 

For 43 over years of plundering and exploitation, the oil and gas royalties are always 5% to be given to Sarawak and Sabah while the Malayan government in the name of Malaysia plunder, exploit and rob off 95% from us.  Where on earth is this share of business dealing 5% : 95%?  Is it not business dealings done at the gun-point?  Yes, they used Internal Security Act, Sedious Act and Emergency Act to oppress and suppress Sarawak and Sabah to submission. 

         Ever since the Sarawak leaders have been under spell of the bloody Malayan political robbers and plunderers who cunningly lure the Sarawak political leaders to collude with them to plunder, exploit, oppress, suppress, rob and bully Sarawakians.  Up to now, we don’t have a proper road network system, not to say public transport like train service going everywhere in Sarawak.  This anger of us has come to an intolerable boiling point. 

        A friend of mine complain frequently about poor road condition.  He often travels by bus from Sibu to Bintulu and Miri on business trips.  He bears witness the poor road condition which hampers the speed of the bus.  We lament together for not having an advanced train transport.  If we have the train service, we will reduce our travelling time by half.

        The whole-wide world has witnessed how Sarawak is oppressed and suppressed for proper development.  If all the resources are kept for the development of Sarawak, she will become one of the most well-developed countries in the world. 

        Today, Mahathir, this devil, still refuses to give back 20% of oil and gas royalties which is the minimum in any business dealings.  Again, he desires for one-sided wealth sharing 5%:95% from Sarawak and Sabah.  The Malayan government can’t get it this time and I believe that they will lose all as we are preparing to sue the Malayan government locally at the High Court of Justice and at the International Court of Justice.  No extreme can last.  They are just too aggressive and arrogant to keep Sarawak and Sabah.  They are too conceited to know how to respect and honour the proper dealing.  The end of this easy flow of cash is near.  Just wait to see!   Ling Moi Hung

Note:  It is said that the Mahathirs have amassed US$ 44 billions.  Mahathir,

          this devil, should think seriously to share three-thirds of his wealth

          with his Kedah state poor Malayas.  Malayans should stand up to

          ground him and his family as far as distribution of wealth is concerned. 

          He is the one who has created this wide disparity of wealth distribution

          among Malaysian.  It is getting worse.  Mahathir should be brought to

         court to face the tribunal for all the criminal breach of trust during his

         22 years’ tenure as PM of Malaysia.  The whole-wide world has borne

         witness how he plundered and blundered through his ministry all for

         the sake of his family wealth building.  Ground this devil!  Ground this

         devil!  Ground this devil! Ground this devil to justify the acts of Justice  

         to all.