KUCHING, Sept 18 — Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan today said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg should not express his happiness after receiving RM2.96 billion in state sales tax (SST) payment from Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas).

He said the chief minister should only be happy if Sarawak takes back its oil and gas resources from Petronas.

“Therefore, there is nothing for him to shout about receiving RM2.96 billion,” Voon told reporters when responding to Abang Johari’s reaction after receiving a cheque for the amount on behalf of the state government yesterday.

The chief minister had said that not only him, but the whole of Sarawak should be happy with the payment.

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Abang Johari added the payment was proof of the good relationship between the state and the federal governments.

Voon recalled a statement made by state Assistant Minister of Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Aman Ghazali that Sarawak received about RM33 billion out of RM660 billion in revenue from oil and gas from 1976 to 2017.

According to information that he had obtained previously, Voon said Sarawak produced 850,000 barrels of oil per day, generating about RM280 million in revenue.

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“We don’t know what the official figure is, but this figure has not been denied by the federal government or Petronas,” he said.

“How about revenue from gas?”

Voon said Sarawak will be the most advanced state in Malaysia if the revenue from oil and gas is used for its development.