PENAMPANG: Aug 10, 2026 – The United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) has called for a review of the 1976 Petronas Agreement.
UPKO President Datuk Ewon Benedick said the demand follows a revelation by former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan that the agreement was never tabled in the Sabah Cabinet meeting.
“UPKO urges that the Petronas Agreement must be reviewed,” he told the media after the 17th UPKO Triennial Delegates’ Conference at Dewan Hongkod Koisaan, KDCA, here today.
Ewon said UPKO disagrees with the view that oil and gas matters fall exclusively under federal jurisdiction merely because the Petroleum Development Act 1974 was passed in Parliament.
According to him, any matter that significantly impacts Sabah should require the consent of the Sabah government.
UPKO also demands the full payment of 40 per cent of revenue to Sabah.
Ewon stressed that the interim payments currently being received are only temporary measures and should not continue indefinitely.
He said reasons related to conflicts or wars in other countries should not be used to delay the full payment.
UPKO has proposed an approach similar to that implemented in the early 1960s when Singapore was still part of the Federation of Malaysia. Under this approach, 40 per cent of federal revenue collected in Sabah would be retained and channelled directly to the Sabah government, while 60 per cent would go to the federal government’s revenue account.
“This can be discussed in terms of the mechanism. If Singapore could do it back then when it was still in the Federation of Malaysia, I don’t see it being difficult to implement,” he said.
Ewon said the party’s position on the matter would be debated by UPKO delegates and, if agreed upon, he would bring the mandate to the Sabah Chief Minister as Chairman of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), the top GRS leadership, and the Sabah government.
