KUCHING, Sept 18 — Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) president Lina Soo today told the state government to raise the 5 per cent state sales tax (SST) on petroleum products made with commodities found in its territory.
She said national oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) pays 38 per cent petroleum tax to the federal government since the 1970s while Sarawak only started to impose the 5 per cent SST last year.
“Sarawak should impose 25 per cent on our oil and gas since we are the landowner and have ownership and economic rights over all our resources,” she said in response to yesterday’s announcement of a RM2.96 billion payment in SST from Petronas to the state government.
Soo said that if Petronas felt her proposal to be untenable, the oil giant should just pay 5 per cent petroleum income tax to the federal government and 25 per cent SST to Sarawak.
“Even this would not address the grievances and injustice Sarawak had suffered since 1976,” she said.
She asserted that Sarawak’s petroleum rights had been usurped by the national oil company through the Petroleum Development Act to develop the peninsula.
Soo also asked the Sarawak government to disclose all dealings with Petronas and the federal government, including the recent SST payment.
“What are the strings attached, when the settlement of the 5 per cent SST should be unconditional?” she asked.
