By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, May 8: Sarawak will not be intimidated or allow its constitutional rights to be violated, and if Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) insists on operating with arrogance and impunity, it will face unrelenting resistance at every turn, with every drop of oil will be contested and every act of overreach will be confronted.
This was the uncompromising declaration issued by 722 Sarawak Day Organising Committee advisor Awang Ahmad Awang Ali in a statement following a meeting held yesterday (May 7).
He emphasised that all Sarawakians — Bangsa Sarawak — regardless of ethnicity or background, must stand united behind the Sarawak government, which is now leading the fight in a proper and structured manner.
“The issuance of a legal letter by the Sarawak government to PETRONAS is just the beginning,” he said, referring to the latest move in the State’s effort to uphold its rights over its petroleum resources.
“Our resources are not up for grabs. The oil beneath our soil belongs to our people, and we will defend it with every legal, political, and moral force at our disposal,” he said in a statement today.
Awang Ahmad said the fight for Sarawak’s rights has been a long and deliberate one, culminating in the 722 movement — a people’s nationalist effort that began in 2006, matured in 2013, and triumphed in 2016 when the late Chief Minister Tun Pehin Sri Adenan Satem, fondly remembered as Tok Nan, declared July 22 as Sarawak Independence Day.
He stressed that the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74) and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) have always been central to the 722 struggle
He also highlighted that the document allegedly signed by Sarawak’s third Chief Minister Tun Abdul Rahman Yakub to cede petroleum rights to the federal government is void and without constitutional force.
“Firstly, it was signed under duress — pressure applied by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah under instructions from then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, shortly after the tragic and mysterious death of Sabah’s first Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens and his cabinet in a plane crash in Kota Kinabalu,” he claimed.
More importantly, he pointed out, the document was never brought before or approved by the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (Dewan Rakyat), as required under both the Sarawak Constitution, MA63 and the Federal Constitution under the State List.
“Thirdly, no Chief Executive — be it Chief Minister or Premier — can, by their own signature alone, bind Sarawak to any law without the mandate and approval of the Legislature,” he stressed.
Awang Ahmad reaffirmed the committee’s full support for the Sarawak government in defending the State’s rights over its oil and gas resources, which he described as decades of unconstitutional overreach.
“Let this serve as an uncompromising declaration: Sarawak will not back down, will not be bullied, and will not allow our constitutional rights to be violated.
“Sarawak will not be trampled on anymore. No entity, no matter how powerful or well-connected, has the right to lay hands on our oil and gas without the explicit, sovereign consent of the Sarawak government,” he asserted.
Echoing the spirit of the 722 movement, Awang Ahmad concluded: “This is our land. This is our fight. And Bangsa Sarawak will not lose. With the Spirit of 722, Bangsa Sarawak will win.” — DayakDaily
