PETALING JAYA: Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg is ignorant of the legal system if he claims that the Petroleum Development Act 1976 (PDA) and the Territorial Sea Act 2012 (TSA) are null and void, said Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
Chong said under the legal system, any law passed in Malaysia and duly gazetted was deemed to be good law until it was repealed or until the Federal Court declared it to be unconstitutional and null and void.
“Other than the Federal Court, no one, not even the prime minister, can declare a law passed in Parliament to be null and void,” he said in a statement today.
Chong, who is also the Sarawak Pakatan Harapan chairman, was commenting on Abang Johari’s earlier remark that the PDA and TSA were not relevant in Sarawak.
The chief minister said both were federal laws and for any federal law to be implemented in Sarawak, the state assembly had to endorse it.
However, the assembly had not endorsed both laws and, therefore, they could not be implemented and they could not supersede state laws, Abang Johari had said.
“Now, quote me properly, any law that is ultra vires the constitution under Article 4 of the Federal Constitution is void,” he told a press conference after launching a seminar in Kuching today.
Abang Johari said this when asked to clarify whether it was possible for Sarawak to take charge of prospecting, mining and developing its petroleum resources when both the PDA and TSA were in force.
Speaking at the launch of Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) recently, he said by July this year, the state would assume full regulatory authority over the upstream and downstream aspects of the oil and gas industry in Sarawak.
He said all persons and companies involved in the oil and gas industries in Sarawak must then have the necessary licences, permits, leases and approvals required under either the Oil Mining Ordinance or the Gas Distribution Ordinance of Sabah.
“The enforcement of our state laws will not jeopardise the interests or investments of Petronas and other companies already involved in the oil and gas industry in Sarawak, whether upstream or downstream, but, their business and operational activities must be aligned with our laws and regulations,” he had said.
Chong argued, however, that the existence of the PDA meant the ownership of all oil and gas had been vested in Petronas.
He said the TSA had further reinforced that position by limiting Sarawak’s territory to a mere three nautical miles from shore.
“Therefore, Abang Jo’s statement claiming that the PDA and TSA are null and void is a manifestation of his ignorance of the legal system in Malaysia,” he said, using the chief minister’s popular nickname.
“He can repeat such a claim another 100 times, but if these two laws are not repealed or amended to exclude its application to Sarawak or declared unconstitutional by the Federal Court, Abang Jo’s claim will remain mere ‘hot air’, an act of ‘shiok sendiri’.
“We are just calling a spade a spade contrary to the allegation of (State Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports) Abdul Karim (Rahman Hamzah) that the DAP and PKR were ‘pouring cold water’ over Abang Jo’s effort to claim the state’s right over the exploration of the state’s oil and gas.
“As a person who holds a law degree and also a legislator for many years, Abdul Karim should know this fundamental principle of the law in Malaysia,” Chong said.
He pointed out the fact remained that Sarawak’s entitlement to the oil and gas royalties were a meagre 5%.
He said the remaining revenues generated from the exploration of oil and gas remained with the federal government and Petronas.
“The ultimate ownership and control of the oil and gas industry in Sarawak remain with Petronas and the prime minister and all Petronas pump stations will remain Petronas pump stations and will not be converted to Petros pump stations,” he added.
Chong called on Abdul Karim and Abang Johari to be truthful to the people of Sarawak. -FMT
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