The Gag on Oil Royalties Issue

 

It is impossible to gag UMNO members from speaking about this matter. Hishamuddin does not know what is spoken loudly at the Whitehorse Kopitiam in KB, all over the Siti Khatijah market, the new bazaar, - indeed all over the country. They are saying UMNO has been deceiving the Malays all this while. But Hishamuddin would rather have us be defenseless and not speak and assert leadership over this issue. They are saying has UMNO got things to hide?

Rather than impose a gag order on this issue, the better option is to exercise leadership over this issue by telling it as it is and doing what is right. Hishamudin is asking us UMNO members to retreat from asserting leadership. If we can't carry our political leadership in Kelantan, at least, let us carry some moral leadership. Acting virtuous isn't a monopoly of PAS leadership.

We must speak through proper channels. What do proper channels mean? We write a paper and pass it to some SUSK to have passages here and there marked in highlights and red markers and then, the SUSK, the other secretaries apply their minds there and tell their ministers? Or better still- we speak in a hostile forum where the only agenda at the end is to ask the party sack Tengku Razaleigh? When the PM says, he is letting UMNO members decide on TRH, what he is saying is, TRH stays. What he is also saying is, Rais is nuts and Hisham misses the cue. All we could muster at the end of the day is to say Razaleigh spoke at the enemy's stage. That's a No No.

UMNO has treated Razaleigh as persona non grata for years. He was the first PETRONAS chairman and yet, PETRONAS has never invited him to its big celebrations. That was because PETRONAS was controlled by Dr Mahathir. PETRONAS was also the private kitty of Malaysian PMs. You have literally ignored the man and now the UMNO leadership is crying foul? The problem is- he is not easily cowed and dismissible. He has the inside track about PETRONAS and the PDA.

But does the gag order apply to UMNO leaders even if they dished out stupid thoughts about this issue? Rais Yatim has already issued advertisements which raised more doubts than clearing matters. We have already debunked the advertisements issued by our Information Minister. That was his over exuberant thoughts on the matter and they were dismissed as pathetic attempts by an increasingly replaceable minister to stay afloat politically. It was just a stunt by Rais to overkill the issue and probably, no, most certainly intended to ingratiate himself to the PM.

You can't stop people talking about this issue. If you stop, then by default, all the opposition people will have a field day speaking about this matter and earning growing allegiance. Then by default, they would assume political and moral leadership. UMNO isn't improving things either by rolling out the red carpet for PKR degenerates.

The refusal by UMNO leadership to tell it as it is about the PDA and the entitlement of states proximate to the oil sources is tantamount to political deception of the highest order. Imposing a gag on UMNO members to speak about this matter, refusing or declining ownership and responsibility over it, is the same as condoning deceit before, now and forever.

Where does wang ehsan originate from? If it's from the revenue collected from PETRONAS, it is covered under the PDA. The most salient point, at this juncture being all cash payments, aka royalties or whatever (no need to split hairs on this matter) are to be paid to the state's CONSOLIDATED FUND. Now, it is from this consolidated fund, state governments table a bill to appropriate monies for running the state.

The PDA forbids any monies to be paid into other agencies other than the state's consolidated fund. Hence if the money is from oil revenue and therefore is covered by the provisions in the PDA, assigning the monies other than to the consolidated fund is unconstitutional.