KUCHING, June 5: Sarawak ministers who are ignorant and lack knowledge of the law should stop blaming Pakatan Harapan (PH) and instead apologise to Sarawakians for misleading them into believing that the state already has full authority over its oil and gas resources.
State PKR vice-chairman See Chee How urged Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing and Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian to do the honourable thing by admitting their ignorance and apologising to fellow Sarawakians.
“Do not try to shift the blame to PH for their own and the BN’s failure to safeguard Sarawak’s territorial integrity and our sovereign rights to our resources in the last 55 years.
“Do not try to hide themselves and their own party’s wrongdoing for not objecting to the enactment of the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA) and the Territorial Sea Act 2012 (TSA).
“Do not blame others when they were part of the state government that had decided to do nothing to challenge the constitutionality of the TSA 2012 and the applicability of the provisions of the PDA 1974 in Sarawak,” See told a press conference today.
Masing had reportedly said that the 20 per cent oil royalty offered by PH in their election manifesto was not relevant to Sarawak as the state now had full control over the production of its oil and gas resources.
Masing had also reportedly said that with Sarawak having full authority over its oil and gas resources as well as its continental shelf, any oil corporation, including Petronas, wanting to operate in Sarawak would have to obtain permits from the state government.
Dr Sim, on the other hand, had reportedly said that the state could get 100 per cent oil royalty, instead of the 20 per cent oil royalty promised by Pakatan Harapan, when campaigning in the recently concluded 14th general election (GE14).
See said Masing and Dr Sim should also apologise to the State Legislative Assembly for backing down on a motion calling for a 20 per cent petroleum royalty for Sarawak, which was unanimously passed on May 6, 2014.
See said the two ministers should learn from Assistant Minister of Law, Federal-State Relationship and Project Monitoring Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali who said that ‘with this new government and supposedly new hope and new era, we hope that PDA 1974 will be comprehensively reviewed and amended in the true spirit of Malaysia.” — DayakDaily
