Tiang: PH Sarawak chief YB Chong out to spin Sarawak again

suppadmin | July 31, 2018

Pakatan Harapan Sarawak chief Chong Chieng Jen and his MPs were out to spin Sarawak people again in their latest announcement yesterday.

According to Chong, PH is now offering a “5+20” package deal to Sarawak, which includes maintaining an oil royalty of 5% plus an additional 20% oil profits for Sarawak. This is obviously another “U-turn” attempted by PH Sarawak which manifests their now common stand that “the manifesto is not a bible, but a guide.” asked Michael Tiang, SUPP youth chief.

“What is Chong’s Sarawakian stand in respect of the oil royalty issues?” Tiang questioned. “Isn’t it true that Chong had been preaching to the people that once PH succeeded in taking over as the new government of the day, there’s no need for Sarawak to beg. The PH government will immediately give 20% oil royalty and 50% tax revenues to Sarawak?” “But today we were told that the oil royalty will be remained at 5% instead.”

Yesterday’s announcement by Chong on the new oil profits sharing package has cast a serious doubt over his authority as the announcement was not made by the Prime Minister himself or Datuk Seri Azmin Ali the Economic Affairs Minister himself who is tasked to oversee the oil royalty issues; instead the new deal was made by a deputy minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs. “Was Chong authorized by the Cabinet to make such an announcement yesterday? What is his authority?” Tiang questioned.

“When offering Sarawak another 20% oil profits, Chong never told the people how much this 20% oil profits worth in monetary values. Being a deputy minister, it is totally absurd for Chong not to give us the figures and statistics to show us exactly how much actual revenues Sarawak would receive from the oil profits before he’s making such a statement. As we all know, by merely talking about the percentage, Sarawak people can easily be misled by PH again.”

I would also like to remind Chong that his priority as the only deputy minister for Sarawak is to (1) safeguard Sarawak’s sovereignty over our own oil by getting back 20% oil royalty for Sarawak as promised in PH’s manifesto; (2) to oppose fervently against the notion that oil profits should replace oil royalty by the PH government; and (3) to move motions to amend both Petroleum Development Act 1974 and Territorial Sea Act 2012 so that these two acts cannot be enforced in Sarawak. Tiang concluded his press statement saying that, “the campaign for the general election is now over. It is time for Chong to walk the talk, instead of playing politics by putting blames on Sarawak government to mask his own incompetence.”