Lina Soo
KUCHING: State Reform Party Sarawak (Star) has described Petronas’ court action as a desperate move to hang onto Sarawak’s oil and gas resources.
Its president Lina Soo has turned to question the haste of the procedure in which Petronas leapfrogged directly to the Federal Court without going through due judicial process
“This will mean there will be no appeal allowed, once the court makes the ruling,” she said, while admitted being stunned by the action of Petronas to seek the Federal Court’s declaration that it is the exclusive owner and regulator of petroleum resources in the country including Sarawak, under the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA).
Assistant Minister for Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali has on Monday confirmed that the Sarawak government has been made a party in the suit cited as Petroliam Nasional Berhad vs Kerajaan Negeri Sarawak.
The haste in which the procedure was undertaken, Soo claimed, smack of the federal government’s desperation to hang onto Sarawak’s oil and gas resources.
“Is it because the federal government has now realised that their right to claim ownership of Sarawak’s petroleum resources can be challenged that they have to resort to such tactic,” she asked.
Soo also claimed that the Petronas’ court application was being used to avoid implementing the election manifesto of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) offer of 20 per cent oil royalty in its so-called ‘New Deal’ promise.
“Sarawak petroleum resources are safeguarded by Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the Federal Constitution,” she said.
“The federal government had breached both Malaysia Agreement and Federal Constitution by seizing control of Sarawak oil and gas through the PDA and the Territorial Sea Act (TSA) which had not been constitutionally passed through our Sarawak Dewan Undangan Negeri,” she pointed out.
Furthermore, Soo said that PDA should not be applicable to Sarawak in referrence to Article 160 Interpretation of the Federal Constitution which stipulates that ‘The Federation’ means the Federation established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957.
“The Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957 does not include Sarawak as Sarawak was never a signatory to the Agreement,” she said.
“Article 160 remains effective and binding for the Federation of Malaya Agreement which established the Federation of Malaya in 1957 and not for the Federation of Malaysia which was established in 1963,” she added.
Soo thus called upon the Sarawak government to strongly oppose the Petronas court application and proposed that the Sarawak Government file a counter claim in several matters.
“That the Petroleum Development Act and Territorial Sea Act are unconstitutional because they altered the boundary of Sarawak without the consent of Dewan Undangan Negeri; that all oil and gas resources rightfully belong to Sarawak; an order that Petronas cease all its oil and gas operations onshore and offshore immediately; claim for damages to be assessed from the date Petronas entered Sarawak, to the date of the order; and whatever relief the court deems fit,” she listed.
The Sarawak government, she urged, must defend Sarawak rights and territorial integrity as the people of Sarawak will rally firmly behind them in defence of motherland.
“The Sarawak government should engage a Queen’s Counsel who is an expert in constitutional and international law because I believe there is no existing credible legal expert in Malaysia who is capable of defending the constitutional rights of Sarawak,” she urged.