I was no dictator in 1976 petroleum deal, says Harris Salleh

The former Sabah chief minister denies he acted unilaterally in agreeing to the 5% royalty and the Petroleum Development Act.

Harris said the law, which vests Sabah’s petroleum resources with Petronas, and the 5% royalty provided to the state, were matters of national interest that fell under federal jurisdiction, as provided by the Federal Constitution.

The legislation was thoroughly deliberated and passed at both the federal Cabinet and Parliament with the full participation of representatives from Sabah and Sarawak, he said.

He said Pairin was technically correct that the 5% payment was never discussed at the state Cabinet level, but only because the matter fell under federal jurisdiction.

“That fact does not in any way validate allegations of unilateralism or dictatorship,” the Daily Express reported him as saying today. “The Sabah Cabinet, by constitutional design, only serves to take note of Parliament’s final decisions on federal matters.

“The 5% 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.

Harris, who was chief minister from June 1976 to April 1985, made his statement in response to comments by Pairin, who recently said that he and then state secretary Hamid Egoh were merely witnesses to the signing of the PDA, and were not involved in the decision-making process.

Harris said Pairin’s accusation that he acted like a “dictator” was a grave misrepresentation of constitutional facts and historical events. He 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 was absent from the relevant proceedings.

“At the material time, he was effectively in the political wilderness,” he said.

Harris also recounted the events leading to the signing of the agreement on the PDA, which was scheduled for June 6, 1976. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who had been named president of Petronas, arrived on June 5. A special dinner was held that night, and a luncheon gathering the next day.

He said that after the event, Sabah chief minister Fuad Stephens returned to Kota Kinabalu “while Razaleigh and I travelled to Kudat to inspect the cattle farming project on Banggi Island”.

Fuad died that afternoon in a plane crash that killed five state ministers and Fuad’s son in what has become known as the Double Six tragedy.

Harris, who was deputy president of Fuad’s Berjaya party, succeeded him as chief minister. However, he fell from power in 1985 when Pairin led his Parti Bersatu Sabah party to victory.