SIBU: The Sarawak government will not budge on the imposition of the five per cent Sales Tax on oil and gas, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
“We will stand firm as it is Sarawak’s right to do so as stated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the Federal Constitution,” he said during a Townhall session ‘Berambeh Ngan Abang Jo’ held at Sibu Islamic Complex here yesterday.
He urged the people to be patient on matters related to the five per cent sales tax on petroleum products that national oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) owed the state.
“The matter is expected to be settled in the next few months. There is a discussion on the matter between the state and federal government,” he said.
Abang Johari noted that Sarawak had produced a total of RM660 billion worth of oil and oil products between 1976 and 2018.
But Sarawak got only RM33 billion of the amount.
“Hence, we implemented a five per cent tax on our oil and gas products as our additional income. However, Petronas has not paid the five per cent sales tax on petroleum products imposed by the state government which came into effect in January, this year although the deadline for Petronas to pay the sales tax was Sept 30.”
