See Chee How
KUCHING (Dec 8): Sarawak has been shortchanged in the commercial settlement agreement that the state government had entered into with Petroliam National Berhad (Petronas) yesterday, said Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How.
He said what was most disappointing and unacceptable to all Sarawakians was the fact that the state government had conceded ground on the constitutionality and legality of the application of the provisions in the Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974.
“This was despite it being repeated time and again, inside and outside the State Legislative Assembly (DUN), that the state will never concede and we will not budge on our oil and gas ownership rights within the territory of Sarawak,” he said in a statement today.
The PSB presidential council member said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had made it clear in his statement that following the settlement agreement, Petronas will continue to play its role as the national oil company with full authority and power over the overall regulation and development of the oil and gas industry in accordance with the country’s laws.
“The state government, on the other hand, through the speech delivered by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan made it a veiled concession that Petronas has full authority in the decision-making and management over the offshore petroleum operations in Sarawak’s territory.
“Even though the statements issued by all parties are cautiously crafted in a vague and ambiguous terms, it does not hide or obscure the fact that the validity of all the provisions under the PDA 1974, the Continental Shelf Act 1966 and the Territorial Sea Act 2012 is now being given full recognition, to the detriment of Sarawak and Sarawakians,” he said.
See said Sarawak and Sarawakians have demanded integrity, full autonomy and sovereign rights to Sarawak’s territory and management of all resources within Sarawak territory, in accordance with the laws.
“However, the aspirations have now been much reduced and shrunken to have a greater degree of involvement in the management of our oil and gas resources on both onshore and offshore areas; enjoy a more equitable share of the revenues from these resources; be accorded with greater investment opportunities for the State in both the upstream and downstream sectors; secure availability of natural gas produced in the State at fair prices to boost the State’s industrial development agenda; and for Petronas to continue and expand its current vendor development programmes as well as to provide more opportunities for Sarawak companies to participate in the oil and gas sectors such as in the award of contracts for supply and services works,” he said.
He pointed out that it is the moral responsibility and legal obligation of the state government to disclose the full terms and conditions of the commercial settlement agreement, to explain and show that Sarawak and all Sarawakians are not being shortchanged by it.
He said the state government should include the terms deliberated and accepted by the DUN Malaysia Agreement (MA63) Consultative Committee that any commercial agreement or settlement with Petronas to allow them to continue with their Sarawak Operation should include but not limited to the following terms or arrangements namely that the state government and Petronas are to devise and implement a five-years localisation plan to realise full Sarawakian administration, management and operation of Petronas’ Sarawak Operation, including but not limited to granting full autonomy on the award and manage contracts for management of existing and future assets within the territory of Sarawak; Sarawak be given 50 per cent of asset ownership and 20 per cent of net profit from all operations from existing and future assets in the state; and to declare Sarawak’s ownership and sovereign rights, powers, liberties and privileges of exploring, prospecting, exploiting, winning and obtaining petroleum whether onshore or offshore, including the granting of oil and gas mining leases and to enter into production contracts over the remaining blocks and fields of oil and gas potentials yet to be awarded with production sharing contracts (PSC).
“While the state government had accepted the other recommendation by the Consultative Committee to set up a state sovereign wealth fund to undertake all upstream and downstream oil and gas projects in Sarawak to ensure that all Sarawakians will have a share of our valuable petroleum resources in Sarawak, we are now left with little capital or principal funds and assets to begin our state owned investments and operations,” said See.