KUCHING : The state government is in the process of negotiating with Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) the commercialisation of gas distribution, said Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring), Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman.
While waiting for the final computation of the amount of state sales tax (SST) to be paid by the national giant company, she said the negotiation would involve expanding the downstream of the gas distribution retailing business in Sarawak.
“Since the right for distribution of the gas has been fully given to Sarawak, we hope such negotiations with Petronas will create more business opportunities for our local oil and gas related companies,” she said.
Hasidah was asked by the media to comment on the next action that would be taken by the state government after Petronas withdrew its appeal on Monday against the Kuching High Court’s ruling that Sarawak was entitled to collect sales tax on petroleum products.
Asked on the final amount of the SST that would be paid by Petronas, she estimated it would be around RM 2.8 to 3 billion for 2019.
“But this does not include the penalty on the late payment and interest. The precise amount is still under computation.
“There are many factors we have to take into consideration when computing the final amount of the SST. This includes the current global oil price,” she added.
Earlier, Hasidah officiated at a ground-breaking ceremony at the roundabout near Jalan Depo-Semerah Padi in Semariang to mark the upgrading of the 1.7-km Jalan Tan Sri Abang ikhwan into a dual carriageway by Kuching North City Commission (DBKU).
Work on the project will start today (Friday Aug 7).
