Fatimah (front, third right) opens a ketupat during the Hari Raya celebration as Rogayah (left), Sharifah Zaidah (second left) and others look on.
SIBU: The Sarawak state government must stand firm in exercising its power under the relevant Sarawak laws relating to oil and gas activities in the state for the sake of Sarawakians.
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah stated this during the Hari Raya celebration organised by Muslim Welfare Organisation Malaysia (Perkim) Sibu branch at Li Hua Hotel on Tuesday night.
She said the stand of the state government is clear – that any companies in the oil and gas industry including their contractors, sub-contractors and vendors would have to apply for licences from the state government in order to operate in the state starting July 1.
“It means we become the regulator and we have the rights to our own resources.
“As a result, we will gain more revenues for our state.
“We would have more revenues for building more infrastructures. If compared to other states, our infrastructures are behind others because of limited federal allocations,” she explained.
Responding to an earlier press statement from Petronas that it (Petronas) has the exclusive ownership of the petroleum resources in Malaysia and that it is the regulator of the upstream sector in the country, Fatimah said the claim contradicted the Sarawak Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO) 1958.
“OMO stipulates that all those involved the oil and gas industry in Sarawak, including Petronas, should comply with it.
“OMO was passed by Sarawak State Legislature in 1958 and came into force on June 9, 1958.
“It is a valid law and will remain valid unless repealed by our State Legislative Assembly. OMO is not one of the laws which were declared Federal Law,” she explained.
According to Fatimah, Section 3 of the OMO makes it an offence for any person who is found to be exploring, prospecting or mining petroleum or natural gas upon any land in Sarawak without any lawful authority to do zso under any provisions of the OMO.
Section 4 on the other hand sets out types of licences or lease that a person may apply.
“Petronas is bound by the OMO and has to comply with the provisions thereof in carrying out any exploration, prospecting and mining of petroleum and natural gas whether on shore or off shore of Sarawak,” she pointed out.
She said the state’s stand on such issues is never intended to take the rights of others, but to take back what is rightfully the state’s.
“Our past leaders might have overlooked this, but now, since all of us understand more about our laws and rights, we cannot stay silent; we must fight for the sake of the people of Sarawak,” she said.
Also present at the event were Perkim Sibu chairperson Datin Sharifah Zaidah Syed Abdul Aziz and Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) deputy chairperson Rogayah Jemain.