Kota Kinabalu: Former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Mohd Salleh said the Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974 under which Sabah’s petroleum resources were vested with Petronas and five percent royalty were matters of national interest that fell under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government as provided by the Federal Constitution.
Harris said Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan was only technically correct in stating that the five per cent payment was never discussed at the Sabah State Cabinet level.
However, this was because the matter was under federal jurisdiction and, therefore, did not require deliberation by the State Cabinet.
“That fact does not in any way validate allegations of unilateralism or dictatorship,” he said, in a statement.
Harris, who took over as CM following the June 6, 1976 Nomad air crash tragedy which killed Fuad and 10 others, including four ministers, said the legislation was thoroughly deliberated and passed at both the Federal Cabinet and Parliamentary levels with the full participation of representatives from Sabah and Sarawak.
“The Sabah Cabinet, by constitutional design, only serves to take note of Parliament’s final decisions on federal matters.
“The five per cent is not a state-negotiated royalty in the traditional sense but rather an additional bonus, a practice commonly applied to resource-producing regions worldwide,” he said in a statement, Thursday.
Hence, Harris, 96, described as “wholly untrue and deeply irresponsible”, the manner in which Pairin portrayed him when he (Harris) signed the PDA and implementation of the five per cent royalty payment.
Both Pairin and then State Secretary Tan Sri Hamid Egoh signed as witnesses. However Pairin at a public forum, recently, said both he and Hamid were merely witnesses to the signing but not party to the decision.
Harris strongly rejected allegations by Pairin that he acted like a “dictator” and unilaterally in relation to the signing, saying such claim was a grave misrepresentation of constitutional facts and historical events.
He said petroleum resources are regarded as national assets rather than state-owned resources, citing Indonesia as an example.
He cited oil extracted from Balikpapan in Kalimantan is recognised as Indonesian national oil and not regional oil, adding that petroleum in Malaysia similarly belongs to the nation and not individual state governments.
Harris also said Pairin lacked first-hand knowledge of the events surrounding the oil agreement, was not directly involved in the political developments of the time and absent from the relevant proceedings.
“At the material time, he was effectively in the political wilderness. During that crucial period, the Tambunan constituency was represented by the late Anthony Gibon,” he said.
Harris also sought to correct what he described as misconceptions surrounding the chronology of events leading to the signing of the agreement.
He said the signing was scheduled for the evening of June 6, 1976, after the five per cent payment arrangement had already been approved by Parliament with the participation of Sabah and Sarawak representatives.
He noted that Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had already been appointed President under the Petroleum Act prior to the signing.
According to Harris, Razaleigh arrived in Labuan on June 5, 1976, where he was received by Fuad Stephens, several Cabinet ministers and Harris himself.
A special dinner was held that evening, followed by a luncheon gathering at Layangan-Layangan on June 6.
“After the event, Fuad returned to Kota Kinabalu, while Razaleigh and I travelled to Kudat to inspect the cattle farming project on Banggi Island,” he said.
Harris urged political leaders to uphold historical accuracy and constitutional facts when discussing issues of public importance.
He warned that unverified claims and misleading narratives could confuse the public and undermine the integrity of the nation’s shared history.
“Leadership demands responsibility. I call on Tan Sri Pairin to retract his misleading statements and present verified constitutional facts rather than resorting to baseless accusations,” he said.
