More than a year following the prime minister’s overtures to PAS to discuss oil royalty payments to Kelantan, former state exco member Husam Musa wonders if Najib Abdul Razak has forgotten the matter altogether.

Last August, Najib (right) had invited PAS to join a new committee established to discuss oil royalty payments to Kelantan.

At the time, Kelantan Umno head Mustapa Mohamed even boasted that the matter could be resolved before the 13th general election, held on May 5 last year.

"(Najib) promised that he would pay up within six months, perhaps he has forgotten," Husam told reporters in Putrajaya yesterday evening.

Husam said Kelantan had already appointed its representative for the meeting but that the person has not heard from Putrajaya since.

"Why is it taking so long? It cannot be that Najib only takes 30 minutes to increase oil prices but cannot solve our oil royalty (issue)," he said, while urging the press to help "remind" the premier.

The Mahathir-administration had cut oil royalty payments to Kelantan - the second most- impoverished state - after PAS took control in 1990. The state remains in the party’s hands.