MOTION DISMISSED: Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian (centre) speaks to reporters at a press conference regarding the dismissal of his motion at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting yesterday. With him are Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How (right) and Krian assemblyman Ali Biju.
THE state government is urged to preserve and uphold the territorial integrity of Sarawak by notifying the federal government that the Territorial Sea Act 2012 [Act 750] ought to be amended and/or re-enacted to provide that the Act shall not be applied to Sarawak.
See Chee How (PKR-Batu Lintang), in making the call, also urged the state government to look into the various enactments in the country which are affecting the rights of the state with regards to the conservation and development of its resources within its territorial boundary.
“It is in my humble opinion that, with the ownership of the continental shelf now reverted back to Sarawak, it is within our absolute constitutional rights to take control and to exercise the power to grant licences for exploration, prospecting and granting of oil mining leases and renewal of licences, generally the management of all the resources within our territorial boundaries,” he said.
See, who is state PKR vice chairman, said this in his debate speech in support of a motion tabled by Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing that the state government be fully committed in safeguarding the special interests of the state.
At the same time, See also proposed that the august House add to the motion a resolution to preserve and uphold the territorial integrity of Sarawak and to reject the Territorial Sea Act 2012.
He hastened to state that he was not advocating for the revocation of all the existing petroleum development agreements and licences for exploration, prospecting and oil and gas mining, which the state shouldn’t and cannot do.
“However, I do hold firmly that the state government should take charge and exercise full authority in the negotiation with companies for further and new agreements and licences for exploration, prospecting and oil and gas mining.
“Besides that, the state government should take initiatives to form a state corporation similar to Petronas to undertake petroleum development projects, to ensure that the state will get better deals out of petroleum development within the territorial boundaries of Sarawak and to better safeguard and conserve these and other valuable resources in our territorial sea.”
See said the enactment of Territorial Sea Act 2012, which came into effect on June 22, 2012 was unconstitutional as it had affected the territorial boundary of Sarawak.
“By virtue of the lifting of the Proclamations of Emergency on Nov 23, 2011, and pursuant to Article 1(3) of the Federal Constitution, the territory of the State of Sarawak is the territory comprised therein the Federation of Malaysia immediately before Malaysia Day.
“Article 2 stipulated that the Parliament may by law alter the boundaries to any state but a law altering the boundaries shall not be passed without the consent of that state in a state legislature and of the Conference of Rulers. Honourable Members of this august House would agree with me that no law was passed in this honourable Dewan to effect the altering of the boundary of Sarawak.”
Further, he pointed out, the Territorial Sea Bill 2012 tabled in Parliament did not stipulate that the prior consent of the Conference of Rulers had been obtained, in contravention of the constitutional provisions and was therefore null and void and of no effect.
“The intention of the federal government in the enactment of the Territorial Sea Act is clear. The Act which has only seven sections reproduces section 4(2) of the Emergency Ordinance No. 7 of 1969 in section 3(3) of the 2012 Act that: ‘For the purposes of the Continental Shelf Act, 1966, the Petroleum Mining Act, 1966, the National Land Code and any written law relating to land in force in Sabah and Sarawak, any reference to territorial sea therein shall in relation to any territory be construed as a reference to such part of the sea adjacent to the coast thereof not exceeding three nautical miles measured from the low-water line’.
“Clearly, the legislative intent of the federal government is to maintain ownership of the rich petroleum and gas reserves in the continental shelf within our territorial boundaries at such part of the sea adjacent to the coasts of Sarawak and Sabah beyond three nautical miles.”