KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, has criticised the actions of an academic who questioned Sarawak’s efforts to reclaim its eroded rights and privileges.
She firmly said that there were four matters that were non-negotiable under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), namely, the right over mineral resources, immigration, territorial boundaries and the Sarawak government’s right to implement state laws.
“If we look at the Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO) 1958, it is a law that grants us the authority to regulate oil and gas operations.
“It has never been repealed and was not nullified by the Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974.
“This is clear because in court, when Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) sued Sarawak, the court ruled that the state had the full right to implement its state laws,” she said as reported by TVS in a news report.
Hasidah was attending the Community Dialogue Session held in conjunction with the Sarawak Liaison Office’s open day here yesterday.
She further said that Sarawak and Petronas had also signed a Commercial Settlement Agreement; the agreement allowed the state government to be more actively involved in onshore oil and gas activities through Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (PETROS).
“All our rights cannot be denied, and no matter what the academic says, our rights remain our rights,” she was quoted as saying.
