KUCHING: State Reform Party Sarawak (STAR) president Lina Soo described it as outrageous when Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen defended the federal government and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) by objecting to the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 (OMO58) which pre-dates the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74).
Soo said by voicing his objection to the Oil Mining (Amendment) Bill, 2018 in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN), Chong was in effect rejecting Sarawak’s rights to its oil and gas resources and giving the rights absolutely to Petronas on a silver platter.
“What is wrong with Sarawak asserting its authority and power to regulate the mining industry in Sarawak?” she asked in a press statement yesterday.
Soo asked if Chong was implying that Petronas has the power to subvert the sovereignty of Sarawak and its protective municipal laws; namely Order in Council 1954, Land Code 1958, OMO58, and Supplementary Deed 1965.
“The PDA74 does not repeal the Sarawak (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954 nor the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 as YB Chong seems to be suggesting, which is tantamount to subverting Sarawak’s sovereignty,” Soo stressed.
Soo believes that Chong was quoting Article 75 of the Federal Constitution out of context when he said: ‘If any state law is inconsistent with the federal law, the federal law shall prevail and the state law shall be void’.
Soo argued that Annex C to the Malaysia Agreement which is the Constitution of the State of Sarawak in Article 27 states the supremacy of the Constitution of Sarawak.
“Any Ordinance passed on or after Malaysia Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void,” she said.
“Is YB Chong pulling the wool over the eyes of the people of Sarawak by alleging that the Sarawak Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement which pre-date the Federal Constitution are subservient to the Federal Constitution? This would be like saying that the grandfather and mother are inferior to the child,” she claimed.
The crux of the matter is that PDA74 and Territorial Sea Act 2012 (TSA) were not passed by the State Legislative Assembly (DUN), and as such these Acts are unconstitutional and unenforceable in Sarawak, she said.
The internal sovereignty of Sarawak based upon Sarawak law has always been protected under the Sarawak Constitution, the Inter-Governmental Report, the Malaysia Agreement, customary international law, public international law and Sarawak’s protective municipal laws, she added.
Soo again reminded that it is imperative that the DUN must pass the Bill to reject PDA74 and TSA to safeguard Sarawakians from the predatory advances and plunder of Sarawak’s oil and gas by Petronas.
“This is not to question the validity of PDA74 and TSA as federal law at this juncture; but to put on constitutional record that both Acts shall not apply to Sarawak.”
Soo also suggested that Sarawak incorporate a Sarawak oil sovereign wealth fund to be managed by professionals for the benefit of the Sarawak people.
“Many successful sovereign funds based on oil income such as in Norway, UAE and Qatar have successfully generated high returns on investments over the years, and this is how Sarawak can manage and grow its wealth to build equitable returns for all Sarawak citizens,” she pointed out.
Sometime in March – before the May 9 parliamentary election – Chong said he would move a motion in Parliament to initiate amendment to the PDA74, particularly on its Section 2 (1) to enable Sarawak to reclaim the ownership of petroleum discovered in the state.
“It is a small amendment but with great consequences. It is an insertion of two words ‘excluding Sarawak’ in Section 2 (1) of the PDA after the word ‘Malaysia’,” he said.
“By making the amendment if proposed and passed in Parliament, all ownership and rights of petroleum will be vested in Sarawak government,” he added then.
Now that Chong is a deputy minister at federal level, it is not known if any Pakatan Harapan leader will follow up with Chong on the issue – that is to have the PDA74 amended.