KUCHING, Oct 11: Having a patronising or bullying attitude by making outrageous claims over Sarawak’s natural resources and sabotaging through unscrupulous means in unverified reports are regretfully unwelcome in Sarawak.
To Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) information chief Datuk Idris Buang, matters such as land, water, electricity, forests, mining, local government, religion, native rights and many others upon which Sarawak has clear autonomous legislation and enforcement over, should not be questioned or violated.
Whoever claims or tries to assume authority over these matters, he said, has to go through “the whole nine yards of history” and review their position so as not to be accused of trying to “bully” or “patronise” Sarawak.
“Such attitude is regretfully unwelcome,” said Idris in a press statement today.
He said this in response to PBB president Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg statement at PBB Special Convention in Betong which states that “certain parties are claiming authority over carbon matters from Sarawak”.
In support of Abang Johari’s stance to “defy such outrageous claim”, he stressed that all carbon matters including carbon storage as well as the air space (legally coined as “the spectrum”) above Sarawak’s land including the whole of its continental shelf and all the seabed and subsoil beneath it , are inherently owned by and belong to Sarawak.
Idris who is also Muara Tuang assemblyman said Sarawak under Abang Johari is tenaciously developing its O&G, carbon, hydrogen and others, in line with the demand for green technology, following all the legal infrastructure in place.
“Therefore, such unscrupulous ‘claims’ to try to undermine or usurp Sarawak’s rights and governance over these matters mentioned above, would simply tantamount subtly to sabortaging Sarawak economic efforts and potentials in the eyes of investors, some of whom have relocated to Sarawak and many others have inked their intention to come over, with investment plans in billions of ringgit.
“For example, a sabortage can come in many ways. It is learnt that in a 12Malaysia Mid-Term Review Report, presented in Parliament recently, a disputable (obviously unverified) but rather ‘super-damaging’ report on Sarawak was released.
“The contents seemingly political in nature are obnoxiously incorrect and could have been published without care and etiquette,” said Idris.
He thus urged the people behind such reports to be properly briefed on the real things that the Sarawak government has done for the period to review and revise these reports in order to give a fair and accurate view in Sarawak.
At the same time, he urged Abang Johari to carry on in his exemplary efforts in all the great initiatives he has embarked upon with even more vigour as the world is witnessing that he really “walks the talk” since he took over the helm of leadership in 2017.
Citing Abang Johari’s recent achievement of receiving the prestigious ‘WITSA Eminent Person Award’ for technological contribution, Idris said it was a significant recognition of Abang Johari’s contributions and innovative vision in the field of technology and green energy.
WITSA is a consortium of over 60 information technology (IT) industry associations from economies around the world. The late Nelson Mandela is noted to be one of the early recipients of the award.
He also stated that Sarawak sovereign rights thereto has always been safeguarded by the Sarawak laws which are further protected by the Federal Constitution itself which provides autonomy for Sarawak to legislate these laws .
“The existence of these unique laws of ours especially regarding land, mining water, O&G (oil and gas), forests etc and matters related or connected and/ pertaining or ancillary thereto have been in force since before Sarawak formed Malaysia with its other partners , Federated Malaya & North Borneo ( Singapore too, then).
“Any amendments to these laws , for example, the amendments to its Land Code in 2022 , were merely to update the law in line with the contemporary usage, terms, nuances and latest technology,” said Idris who is also Sarawak Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker.
He said these amendments stem out of Sarawak’s own inherent sovereign rights intrinsically secured under its own laws.
These inviolable rights to legislate, he added, are preserved in the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report incorporated in the Malaysian Agreement of 1963 (registered with the United Nation as Instrument No 10760).
To him, this very agreement was the basis upon which the Federation of Malaysia was formed and its spirit lives on.
“Our Federal Constitution now made reference of this in Article 160 (2) ( read with Article 1(2) of the same.” — DayakDaily
