KUCHING, Feb 4: Sarawakians are reminded amidst the legal battle between Petronas and the state government, that Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government has failed to honour its election promise to grant 20 per cent royalties to oil-producing states.
Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan was in the view that PH, under the leadership of prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, should use all its means and resources to get Petronas to pay the sales tax imposed by the Sarawak government.
“However, PH failed to resolve the matter. Instead, they are putting salt into the financial injuries suffered by the people of Sarawak by letting the court decide. Under the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA 1974) the Prime Minister wields very wide powers to control all the affairs of Petronas and PH should not come with any legal and political excuses of not wishing or not able to resolve the claims made by the Sarawak government against Petronas,” Voon said in a statement.
He opined that if Petronas was allowed to take all of Sarawak’s oil and gas, then there would be nothing to stop the federal government from taking all the Native Customary (NCR) and state land that belong to the natives and the state by the stroke of a pen with the help of their agents here, especially if PH was successful in capturing the State Legislative Assembly and form the next Sarawak government.
“This will add untold miseries to the people of Sarawak. For the exploitation of our natural resources, there could be a possibility that the PH will amend the State Constitution, the Sarawak Land Code and remove our immigration rights. The dream of Dayaks to have titles issued to their native lands may be diminished,” Voon said, adding that therefore, Sarawakians should take the legal battle as an act of treachery by the federal government against the wellbeing of the people of Sarawak.
Sarawakians were also reminded of the loss of Labuan in Sabah as a federal territory, followed by the loss of control of Sarawak’s Bintulu Port to the federal authorities.
By allowing the court to determine the extent of Sarawak’s rights over the control of oil and gas resources, Voon also opined that PH had all the intention to see the success of its ‘Tawan Sarawak’ agenda against PBK’s ‘In quest of Independence’.
Voon said this was to ensure that Sarawak would never be able to be set free and independent from colonialism and imperialism from foreign powers.
“Sarawak has discovered 200 oil and gas fields which remained undeveloped. At the moment, there are 34 gas and 26 oil fields from 300 platforms producing about 850,000 barrels of crude oil every day and is said to spin a daily revenue of about nearly RM300 million. Therefore, the stakes are too high for Malaya and Petronas, while PH has nothing to lose but to drag the Sarawak government to court to claim exclusive rights to the oil and gas resources of Sarawak,” Voon asserted.—DayakDaily
