IN a recent parliamentary session, Marang MP Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang accused the government of unfair practices in distributing royalty payments to opposition-led states.
The PAS leader described the funds utilised by the government as “illegitimate” when the federal government breached agreements with Petronas regarding royalty payments.
“Do not breach such agreements; this money is considered ‘haram’ (forbidden) because it violates the agreement. This is a wrong move, creating a double standard between states governed by the government and those led by the opposition,” he asserted.
“Yet when it comes to tax collection, both government and opposition states are taxed. But when it comes to distributing the proceeds, there is a double standard.”
Hadi made these remarks during a discussion on the midterm review of the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12) in the August House.
Moreover, his statement prompted a question from Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung who inquired why Hadi and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, during their two-year tenure, had not updated the latest agreement with Petronas.
“It was mentioned that the agreement was not binding. During the two years of PN’s rule, why was the agreement not updated and why hasn’t there been a 5% royalty for the Terengganu government?” asked Lee.
In response, Hadi shifted blame to his political opponents, claiming that during PN’s governance, there were numerous attempts by “weaver ants” to destabilise the government, which prevented them from thoroughly reviewing the agreement.
“In reality, we had many matters to attend to. During our time in power, there were many ‘weaver ants’ causing disturbances and attempting to overthrow the government.
“When did we have the opportunity to review this agreement? We were forced to defend the government and had to change the prime minister (PM) two or three times.”
“Our side has many who are eligible to be PM such as Larut MP and Pagoh MP. Over there? Only one can be a PM. Those who join here can be PM candidates too,” he responded.
Furthermore, Jelutong MP RSN Rayer interjected and asked Hadi about the consequences if PN continued to undermine the unity government chosen by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, given Hadi’s allegation that the government was “eating haram money.”
Hadi responded, “Oh, he’s passing the buck. According to parliamentary democratic processes, a government can be changed through a vote of no confidence in Parliament or through MPs making statutory declarations (SD), or the government can dissolve and call for fresh elections. This can be done; it’s not wrong.”
Jelutong then expressed concerns about incitement, to which Hadi replied, “If I’m wrong, report me again.” – Sept 13, 2023
Main photo credit: Hadi Awang’s Facebook
