MB: Pahang govt plans to seek RM17.1bil in compensation from federal govt

Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.

KUANTAN: The Pahang government is planning to demand RM17.1bil in compensation from the federal government for the revenue it is losing out on, says Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.

He said the compensation was opportunity cost for the nearly one million hectares of forest and wildlife reserves in the state that were being used as water catchment areas.

"This is also for the Klau Dam, where the state government is losing out on revenue for logging, mineral, palm oil and quit rent for an area of about 33,000ha.

"These are opportunity costs the state government has to let go for the sake of people outside Pahang," Wan Rosdy said during the state assembly sitting here Wednesday (April 17).

He said the state government would request the sum be deducted from the RM3.17bil it owed the federal government.

"In other words, the federal government owes the state government and we have yet to charge arrears. If we count arrears and interest, perhaps the amount is higher than that," he said.

To a question from Sim Chon Siang (PH-Teruntum) on how the state government would settle the RM432.7mil debt it owed Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Wan Rosdy said they would pay in cash when the federal government returned the RM17.1bil.

Wan Rosdy had earlier said that RM2.1bil out of the RM3.17bil debt were water supply loans.

He said the state government intended to restructure the amount but it was subjected to terms and negotiations with the federal government.

"However, the state government has not received the offer from the federal government," said Wan Rosdy in answering a question from Young Syefura Othman (PH-Ketari).

He added that the state government had submitted an application for a write-off of 60% or RM1.3bil for rural water supply projects in a letter to the Prime Minister on Oct 25 last year.

"The balance will be taken over by Perbadanan Aset Air Bhd. In return, the state government has to transfer immovable assets equivalent to the balance for a duration of 45 years," he said.

Besides that, Wan Rosdy said the federal government also owed RM200mil for the organising of Sukma 2012 and RM43mil for the 2014 floods.