by DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Feb 22: The Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA 1974) is not absolute and is still subject to the Federal Constitution, Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali says.
Responding to recent remarks by Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong, the Deputy Minister of Law, State-Federal Relations, and MA63 in the Sarawak Premier’s Department stressed that the Sarawak government has always stood by the fact that both Federal and State laws must be respected and must co-exist.
“The PDA 1974 and the Sarawak Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016 (DGO 2016) are both in force, but this does not mean, and we never say that the PDA 1974 is absolute. The PDA 1974, like any other laws, is still subject to the Federal Constitution.
“Under Item 8(j) of the Federal List of the Federal Constitution, the Federal Government’s control over petroleum is still subject to Item 2(c) of the State List, which grants Sarawak authority over land and its natural resources i.e. through prospecting licences, mining leases and certificates.
“This fundamental constitutional structure remains unchanged, and the GPS Government has never said that PDA 1974 cancels or overrides Sarawak’s laws or rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),” she explained.
She further pointed out that over the last ten years, Sarawak has made significant strides in reclaiming its rights over petroleum resources.
Notably, since 2020, Sarawak has regained full control over onshore mining.
Under the Sarawak Oil Mining Ordinance, a mining lease has been granted to Petros, enabling the exploration and production of petroleum in the Adong Kechik West area of Miri.
Oil production in this area is expected to commence in a few months’ time, marking the first time in over 50 years that onshore oil production is taking place in Sarawak.
She also highlighted that before the establishment of Petros, Sarawak had no rights or equity in offshore oil and gas fields.
Today, Petros holds equity in five producing blocks on the Continental Shelf, making it Malaysia’s third-largest oil and gas company with an annual revenue of RM4 billion. Petros is also exploring five offshore blocks and is poised to develop gas reserves in western Sarawak.
In the downstream activities, Sarawak will control the distribution of gas in the State through the Distribution of Gas Ordinance, 2016.
“The GPS Government will ensure that our gas resources will be used sustainably because the current trend of exporting 94 per cent of the natural gas produced in the State is not a sustainable use of depleting resources.
“We have been assured of at least 1.2bmmsfd of gas to support the State Gas Roadmap which would enable the State to attract more foreign investments, support greater power generation and to propel Sarawak to be the clean energy hub of Asean as announced by the Prime Minister,” Sharifah Hasidah said. – DayakDaily
