Kelantan still not given up for oil royalty claim

KOTA BARU: The Kelantan state government has not given up hope on its oil royalty claim from the Federal Government, said Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

He said that although the state government had initially expected the oil royalty to be paid before Hari Raya Aidilfitri it would still strive to make headway on the issue.

“Discussions between officers from both sides are still ongoing. We hope they will have a positive result,” Nik Aziz told reporters here yesterday.

He was asked whether the state government had given up hope on the oil royalty claim after having expected to receive the payment from the Federal Government by now.

According to a report last month, it is seeking RM1bil in oil royalty, claiming that the money constituted 5% of the earnings from petroleum and liquefied natural gas extracted from Kelantan’s offshore since 2004. — Bernama