KOTA BHARU, Feb 25: Without a doubt, the hottest topic in Kelantan these days is oil royalty and the overwhelming rush of public interest in ‘black gold’ has been a boon to local politicians, who have lost no time in huddling up to their constituents to explain the truth as seen from their points of view.
“It’s not so much a case of striking when the iron is hot but I have never seen such outpouring of interest from the Kelantanese,” Machang MP Saifuddin Nasution told Harakahdaily in an interview. “There is a genuine desire to know the latest developments and to give their own two cents worth on the issue. Every Kelantanese you meet will know something or other about the oil money owed to their state and you don’t need to probe, they will freely tell you what they think!” Every action has a repercussion Payment or rather non-payment of oil royalty owed to opposition-led petroleum-producing states has long been a thorny issue. In 2000, Mahathir Mohamad, who was then the prime minister, had devised a compassionate fund or ‘wang ehsan’ scheme to wriggle out from having to make huge cash payments to a PAS-led Terengganu. Basically, the new scheme allowed him to dictate the quantum of payment and to channel it to federal agencies based in the state rather than to the state government directly. The autocratic Mahathir persisted even though PAS president Hadi Awang took him and national oil firm Petronas to court. He railroaded the new scheme through even though it directly contravened the Petroleum Development Act 1974, which states that a sum equivalent to five per cent of the value of petroleum produced onshore and offshore of a state was paid to that state annually. “That was a different Malaysia in a different time and different era. Mahathir could force it down the people’s throat then, let’s see if Prime Minister Najib Razak can do the same now,” said Saifuddin, who is also the PKR secretary-general. “Every action has a repercussion. Mahathir always relied on strong-arm tactics rather than persuasion and fair play. When he talks about his legacy of development, Malaysians are the first to rebut with mega-projects and cronies! The respect we show him now is more for his age and seniority rather than for his values and principles. And that is a sad indictment.” Oil the showstopper Each month, Saifuddin usually holds at least four ceramahs or political lectures at Machang - a major town nearby to state capital Kota Bharu to the north and Kuala Krai to the south. With a population of nearly 100,000 people, Machang is also home to a Universiti Teknologi Mara campus. Out of his four monthly talks, Saifuddin tries to make at least one a “big one” with invited glitterati from the top Pakatan lineup. On Wednesday, deposed Perak chief minister Nizar Jamaluddin and Kelantan PAS women’s head Siti Zailah Mohd Yusof were his guest speakers. “At Machang, the main topics are oil royalty, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial and the lack of rule of law and justice in Malaysia. You will find that in all three issues, the position taken by Umno-BN is against the teachings of Islam, which first and foremost condemns cruelty and oppression,” Saifuddin said. “The showstopper will of course be oil royalty. Last night, I was with Datuk Husam Musa at the ceramah in Pasir Mas stadium. There were at least 5,000 people and we were able to give a good account of ourselves. Tonight after Machang, Datuk Nizar will go to Tumpat to speak again at another ceramah. It will be like this - non-stop - for a while." Even the women are bristling with indignation Even the Kelantanese women, famous for their business acumen but traditionally lower-profile as far as politics is concerned, have come out from their shell in the predominantly Muslim state. “For the women’s wing, PAS muslimat has invited me to speak at a series of 14 afternoon lectures. I have done 11 so far and the attendance has been fantastic. At each gathering, the turnout is at least 500 women. These are very good signs for Pakatan," Saifuddin said. “It is obvious the people like our information better than Umno, which is also trying hard to hold their own ceramahs. But if they were popular, their information chief wouldn’t need to pay for full-page newspaper advertisements to explain their stand on oil royalty.”
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