The Kelantan government wants to secure the state’s rights to oil royalties through diplomatic channels instead of the courts, says deputy menteri besar Fadzli Hassan.
Fadzli said the state had previously attempted the legal route, but the long time and high costs required to resolve the matter made the diplomatic route more attractive.
He said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s guarantee that he would consider the matter also affirmed the state government’s decision to stick with diplomacy.
“We will hold the prime minister to his statement that he will consider it. If not (Anwar), we’ll see if the next PM considers it,” Berita Harian reported him as saying.
He was responding to calls from opposition assemblymen for the state government to bring its dissatisfaction with the Territorial Sea Act 2012 to the Federal Court.
Fadzli said the state government regularly brings up the issue with Putrajaya, arguing that it is fighting for the state’s royalties and not wang ehsan, or courtesy payments.
Kelantan does not qualify for royalties based on the federal government’s interpretation of offshore boundaries, which is premised on the Territorial Sea Act 2012.
Instead, it receives discretionary “wang ehsan” payments from the federal government for petroleum extracted beyond the state’s territorial waters.
