PETALING JAYA: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, has not verified her claim that Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg agreed to accept the Petroleum Development Act 1974 as governing the state’s petroleum industry, said former state attorney-general Datuk Seri Fong Joo Chung.
According to a report by Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Fong claimed that Azalina was not present at the meeting between Abang Johari and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, thus making her comments in parliament hearsay.
“There is no evidence that the Premier agreed that Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) can only distribute six per cent of the gas. She was not at the meeting. Hence, what she said in parliament is hearsay.
“She should have had the courtesy to refer to Abang Johari or the Premier’s Office to determine what he actually agreed to,” he said during a forum titled “Fifty Shades of Federalism” at the Subang National Golf Club on Saturday (Feb 15).
Fong said Sarawak was still engaging with the federal government on this matter and that the state ‘knows a way forward that would not hurt Petronas’.
He said Sarawak held the rights to distribute oil and gas, as enshrined under two exemption orders signed under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 discussions during previous federal administrations.
Fong also spoke out against narratives depicting Sarawak’s efforts to consolidate its oil and gas rights as attempts to undermine Petronas.
“It’s not true. Petronas is still in charge of manufacturing and exporting LNG. It is strange to claim that a Fortune 500 company would face significant trouble just because they lost one business deal in Sarawak.
“All these narratives are not good for national integration and unity. Sarawakians love Malaysia and Sarawak in equal measure,” he stressed.
Fong also said the gas produced in Sarawak is not being utilised sustainably, as 94 per cent of it is exported to Japan and Korea.
He said retaining natural gas for local use would facilitate the implementation of the Sarawak Gas Roadmap.
“We would use this gas to generate power and transmit electricity to Peninsular Malaysia, where gas reserves could be fully depleted by 2032,” he said.
Previously, on Feb 12, Abang Johari said there were still matters to be resolved between Petronas and Petros regarding the issue of oil and gas rights in Sarawak.
He noted that while a resolution was in sight, some “grey areas” remained for both parties to address.
“There is a sense of finality, but some grey areas remain due to misinformation. In reality, the situation is clear, but misinformation has muddied the waters,” he said.
Abang Johari’s comments came after Azalina stated in parliament that Sarawak had accepted the Petroleum Development Act 1974, rather than state ordinances, as the law governing Malaysia’s petroleum sector.
Her statement followed a meeting between Anwar and Abang Johari on Jan 7.
Azalina also said Petronas had accepted Petros’s role as Sarawak’s sole gas aggregator, excluding liquefied natural gas (LNG).