Zaid Ibrahim said Sarawak’s spat with Putrajaya over oil and gas rights should not lead to it abandoning the unity government it helped form two years ago.
PETALING JAYA: Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has called on Sarawak to reach an amicable agreement with Putrajaya over oil and gas rights in the state, warning that failure to do so could lead to political instability.
In the latest episode of his podcast, Zaid also said it would not be in Sarawak’s interests if the state’s leaders abandon the unity government it helped form two years ago after the last general election ended in a hung Parliament.
“What option does Sarawak have? Does it want to team up with the Malay-majority party that whips Malay offenders? Is that what Sarawak wants?” he said in an apparent reference to PAS.
“On Dec 6, Terengganu will publicly cane an old man for being in close proximity with a woman. Is that the kind of party that Sarawak is looking to partner with? Surely not. In this imperfect world, at least the unity government has not gone down that route yet.
“I don’t hold any brief for Petronas or Putrajaya, and these are all my personal views. But the basic thrust of my argument is that if you allow legal disputes to fester and prolong, then it will cascade and lead to political differences – and that’s not good.”
The former Kota Bharu MP went on to praise Sarawak for its liberal, friendly and multicultural values, noting that the state sets a good example for the rest of the country.
“(So) when I urge Sarawak to be circumspect and careful about the issue of oil and gas rights, it’s because I want the state to be close to the federation,” he said.
Zaid had earlier this week dismissed Sarawak’s claim that its territorial boundaries were extended before the formation of Malaysia, saying the state’s position was premised on a misunderstanding of maritime law.
In response, Satok assemblyman Ibrahim Baki wrote that Zaid’s argument was flawed as the Federal Constitution does not allow Parliament to pass a law to vest Sarawak’s petroleum rights to Petronas.
On Nov 15, Ibrahim told the Sarawak legislative assembly the state had entered into a mining lease with Sarawak Oilfields Limited in 1952.
He claimed that following the 1954 Order in Council, which extended Sarawak’s boundaries, the state extended the lease to cover the continental shelf comprising the seabed and subsoil under the high seas adjacent to its territorial waters.
He said the state then formalised control over all resources in the continental shelf by passing the Sarawak Oil and Mining Ordinance (OMO) in 1958, which he claims continues to be in force to this day.
Ibrahim was quoted as saying by Dayak Daily that despite Section 2 of the Petroleum Development Act vesting petroleum rights in Malaysia to Petronas, the PDA did not repeal the OMO and did not exempt Petronas from complying with constitutionally valid state law.
On Thursday, Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg doubled down on Ibrahim’s contentions, insisting that the OMO remains valid and in force and that any entity engaging in resource exploration and extraction must adhere to it.
Debating the state budget for 2025 on Nov 14, Stakan assemblyman Hamzah Brahim said Petronas was disrespecting Sarawak’s state laws by delaying the finalisation of a gas distribution agreement which would see Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) officially recognised as the state’s sole gas aggregator.
Hamzah warned Putrajaya not to allow Petronas’s “pride and greed” to “contribute to the potential downfall of the Madani government”.
Today, Zaid said such threats do not serve Sarawak well, and called for the issue to be resolved in a “brotherly and civil” manner.
“I am all for equitable sharing of revenue … (and) of course, everyone has to start (negotiating) from a legal position.
“If you discuss this matter in good faith and you see that the strict legal position may not be equitable or fair, then have a new contractual arrangement or pass a new set of laws to address deficiencies.
“We cannot prolong this in a hostile environment,” he said.
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