EDITOR’S NOTE: This two-part commentary was first published by the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (UKAS) on September 5, 2025.
Read Part 2 here.
For decades, Sarawak’s oil and gas wealth has been siphoned away under a lopsided arrangement that gave little back to the State. Now, with PETROS as the sole gas aggregator, Sarawak is exercising its rightful authority under law, yet baseless accusations of hidden agendas are being peddled.
In recent weeks, Sarawak has once again found itself the subject of baseless accusations and half-truths propagated by certain quarters in Malaya. The latest attempt, published by Politikonomi under the sensational headline ‘The Chinese Fuzhou hidden hands behind Sarawak’s gas aggregator ambition EXPOSED’, is not just misleading.
It is mischievous, racially insensitive, and dangerously destabilising. The article attempts to cast doubt on Sarawak’s legitimate control over its oil and gas resources by alleging that “invisible Fuzhou entrepreneurs” are manipulating our leaders through Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (PETROS). It paints a picture of shadowy hands pulling the strings to enrich themselves, echoing tired stereotypes of timber-era politics, and deliberately blurring the facts.
Such narratives are not only wrong, but reckless. They ignore the historical exploitation of Sarawak’s oil and gas, downplay the State’s constitutional rights, and insult the integrity of Sarawak leaders who are determined to ensure that resources benefit all Sarawakians. It is time to set the record straight with facts, figures, and the law.
Let us start with the most obvious flaw in the Politikonomi article, particularly its glaring misidentification of Sarawak’s leaders’ ethnic backgrounds.
The article specifically names two prominent figures, namely former Sarawak Attorney-General and current State Legal Counsel Datuk Seri JC Fong, and Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, as supposed “Fuzhou masterminds” behind Sarawak’s gas aggregator agenda. This claim is laughable on its face.
JC Fong is not Fuzhou. He is Cantonese Chinese. Dr Sim, meanwhile, hails from the Chawan Teochew community. If a publication cannot even get such basic facts right, how can it claim credibility when discussing something as complex as oil and gas policy? By misrepresenting leaders’ ethnic identities, the article exposes its own ignorance and agenda.
But beyond factual inaccuracies, the narrative is deeply offensive. To suggest that Sarawak’s leaders, men of professional integrity with decades of service, are puppets of ethnic business groups is to insult not only them, but the people of Sarawak who elected and trust them.
Are Sarawak’s leaders so simplistic that they can be manipulated by “hidden hands”? Absolutely not. It’s paloi to say the least!
Talking about Sarawak’s legal authority over gas distribution. The heart of the matter is not race, nor conspiracy theories. It is law! The law that has been in place since the formation of Malaysia in 1963, and further clarified through Sarawak’s legislative powers.
As JC Fong rightly pointed out, it was agreed during Malaysia’s formation that legislative authority over electricity and the distribution of gas rests with the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS).
Acting on this constitutional mandate, the DUS enacted the Distribution of Gas Ordinance (DGO) 2016, which was further amended in 2023. The amendments empowered the State Cabinet to appoint a sole gas aggregator. And that aggregator is PETROS.
PETROS’ role is clear and legal: procure gas from producers, allocate and distribute supply to consumers and industries, and expand and develop Sarawak’s gas distribution network.
No other entity, including PETRONAS, has been appointed under the DGO as an aggregator. PETROS is therefore the sole lawful gas aggregator in Sarawak. Get that into your head.
This is not Sarawak’s unilateral decision. It is rooted in Malaysia’s federal arrangement. The Joint Declaration signed on May 21, 2025, between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg explicitly states that federal and State laws on gas distribution shall coexist and be respected by all industry players, including Petronas and PETROS.
Put simply, Petronas must recognise PETROS’ role, because the law, meaning both state and federal, requires it. The Politikonomi article conveniently omits the most crucial fact, which is, Sarawak has been systematically short-changed in oil and gas revenues for nearly five decades.
Since the signing of the Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974, Petronas has extracted oil and gas from Sarawak, with the State receiving only a five per cent royalty. From 1975 to 2024, this amounted to about RM49 billion in cash payments.
But here is the staggering truth: the remaining 95 per cent of revenues, estimated to exceed RM1 trillion, were retained by PETRONAS; the people in Malaya can argue and shout till the buffaloes come home, but this fact remains, and is irrefutable!
Yes, Sarawak, the rightful owner of the resources, received only a tiny fraction of the wealth flowing out of its soil and seas.
Even when we factor in other financial benefits, such as RM28.6 billion in dividends from Sarawak’s shareholding in Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd (MLNG) as of December 2024, and RM18.66 billion in sales tax collected as of Q3 2024, the total combined figure stands at around RM96 billion. Substantial on the surface, yes, but when weighed against half a century of oil and gas extraction worth more than RM1 trillion, Sarawak’s slice is minuscule.
This is the imbalance Sarawak is trying to correct. PETROS is the vehicle for that correction.
Critics accuse Sarawak leaders of enriching themselves through PETROS. The facts say otherwise. Under PETROS stewardship, Sarawak has already begun channelling direct benefits to ordinary households; benefits that never materialised under decades of PETRONAS operations.
Some of the benefits include free gas supplies which are now being provided to B40 households in Bintulu and Miri (Sungai Plan and Taman Ceria, Permyjaya), and plans are underway to expand this subsidy to other parts of the state, ensuring that Sarawak’s natural gas powers Sarawakians’ kitchens first.
PETROS is also addressing shortages in gas allocation for power generation, industries, and investors, bottlenecks that previously hindered Sarawak’s growth.
Revenues are funding transformative infrastructure projects such as the Second Trunk Road (STR), the Sarawak Coastal Road, iconic bridges across major rivers, international secondary schools, and, beginning next year, free tertiary education for Sarawakians.
All these initiatives cut across race and class. They are not for the political elite, nor for one ethnic group. They are for all Sarawakians.
Contrast this with the four decades of PETRONAS operations in Sarawak, which, despite vast profits, never delivered free gas to households nor funded free education. The difference speaks for itself.
Sarawak’s goodwill has long sustained Petronas operations. But goodwill is not infinite. JC Fong warned rightly: if false narratives continue, they risk eroding Sarawakians’ goodwill towards Petronas, and with serious consequences for national unity.
Sarawak does not seek confrontation. It seeks respect. Respect for its laws, respect for its leaders, and respect for its right to use its resources for the welfare of its people.
Indeed, projections show that with adequate gas allocation under the Sarawak Gas Roadmap (SGR), Sarawak could contribute more than RM100-130 billion annually to Malaysia’s GDP. A stronger Sarawak benefits the federation. But that requires collaboration, not slandering our leaders!
The truth is clear, and let’s set the records straight and dispel the false narratives. PETROS’ role as sole gas aggregator is legally grounded; Sarawak has been financially disadvantaged for decades; under PETROS, real benefits are finally reaching Sarawakians; and false narratives about “Fuzhou hidden hands” are baseless, divisive, and disrespectful.
Sarawak’s leaders are not puppets. They are patriots, navigating a path that balances state rights with national unity. The people of Sarawak demand, and deserve, fair treatment, not smear campaigns.
Let those who question Sarawak’s motives remember this: without Sarawak’s resources and goodwill, Petronas would not be the giant it is today. Sarawak has given much to Malaysia. It now asks only for respect, equity, and the chance to prosper alongside the rest of the nation.
Anything less is not only unjust, it is un-Malaysian. — UKASnews
