KUCHING, June 4: The Sarawak government has yet to receive a motion filed by national oil corporation Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) seeking for a declaration of exclusive ownership of all petroleum resources in the country including Sarawak.
In a statement today, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring) Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said the state government would do everything within its powers to defend the state’s rights in this matter.
“The State Attorney-General’s Chambers on June 4, 2018 has been served with a notice from the Federal Court Registry that the state government is being made a party in a suit by Petronas in the case of ‘Petroliam Nasional Berhad vs Kerajaan Negeri Sarawak’. The application for leave made under Article 4(4) of the Federal Constitution will be heard on Tuesday, June 12 in Putrajaya.
“At the moment, the state (government) has yet to receive the motion filed by Petronas related to the application.
“The state government will do everything within its powers, in accordance with the rule of law, to defend our rights in this matter,” said Sharifah Hasidah in a press statement this afternoon.
Petronas in a press statement this morning said it had filed an application before the Federal Court seeking for a declaration on the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA) being the law applicable for the petroleum industry in Malaysia.
The application was also to declare Petronas as the exclusive owner of the petroleum resources as well as the regulator for the upstream industry throughout Malaysia, including in Sarawak.
“Petronas believes that the determination by the Federal Court would help provide clarity on its rights and position under the PDA.
“Petronas remains committed to support Sarawak’s aspiration to participate in the oil and gas industry in the state, for as long as it is within the framework of the PDA,” it said. — DayakDaily
