KUCHING: The SUPP Central Women section has voiced its firm support for the Sarawak government’s decision to file a petition in the Federal Court to challenge the constitutional applicability of several federal oil and gas laws in the state.
The movement described the petition as a necessary step to obtain definitive constitutional clarification at the highest judicial level.
The petition seeks a determination on the validity and continued applicability in Sarawak of the Petroleum Development Act 1974, the Continental Shelf Act 1966 and the Petroleum Mining Act 1966.
The section said in a statement that the move comes against the backdrop of a series of legal challenges initiated by Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) involving Sarawak’s regulatory and fiscal authority since 2018.
Among them were a 2018 Federal Court application seeking declarations on the exclusivity of the Petroleum Development Act 1974, a 2019 to 2020 judicial review challenging Sarawak’s five per cent State Sales Tax on petroleum products, 2025 High Court proceedings disputing the state’s Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016 licensing regime, and a January 2026 Federal Court motion seeking clarification of the regulatory framework governing PETRONAS’ operations in Sarawak.
It noted that in June 2018, PETRONAS sought declarations that the Petroleum Development Act 1974 governs the petroleum industry throughout Malaysia and that it is the exclusive owner of petroleum resources and sole upstream regulator, including in Sarawak.
However, the Federal Court dismissed the application for leave on jurisdictional grounds.
In 2020, the Kuching High Court upheld Sarawak’s constitutional authority to impose its five per cent State Sales Tax, dismissing PETRONAS’ judicial review.
Despite those outcomes, the statement said further legal challenges have continued.
The SUPP Central Women Section maintained that the present petition is not an act of confrontation but a constitutional defence grounded in the Federal Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
It said Sarawak’s rights are entrenched in these foundational documents and are not political concessions.
The movement also expressed full confidence in the leadership of Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, who is spearheading Sarawak’s legal response.
At what it described as a critical juncture, the section called on Sarawakians, regardless of political affiliation, to remain united in safeguarding the state’s natural resources, constitutional position and the interests of future generations.
