Parti Warisan Sabah permanent chairman VK Liew says Sabah has different issues, such as oil blocks overlapping with Brunei and Indonesia.
Parti Warisan Sabah permanent chairman VK Liew has dismissed former Sabah special task minister Teo Chee Kang’s call urging the state government to intervene in the suit. (Facebook pic)
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah permanent chairman VK Liew believes Sabah’s situation is different from that of Sarawak when it comes to the Petronas suit seeking a declaration that it is the exclusive owner of the country’s petroleum resources.
He said Sabah had different issues, such as “unresolved” oil blocks, including those overlapping with Brunei’s.
“This will require us to bring up the issue of exchange of blocks L and M with Brunei, which Sarawak does not have.
“Then there are the overlapping oil fields with Indonesia in our waters which are being operated by Petronas now but the sharing has yet to be concluded,” said the Batu Sapi MP.
He was commenting on a suit filed by Petronas seeking to clarify that under the law, it is the exclusive owner of the petroleum resources as well as the regulator for the upstream industry throughout Malaysia, including in Sarawak.
Liew also claimed Sabah did not have laws on the environment involving oil spills but Sarawak had its own legislation to deal with such matters.
“I have no doubt the state attorney-general will look into the Petronas suit in the Federal Court closely and will advise the Warisan-led government on the proper cause of action,” he said.
Meanwhile, Liew dismissed former Sabah special task minister Teo Chee Kang’s statement urging the Warisan-led state government to intervene in the suit.
On another note, Liew said Chief Minister Shafie Apdal had taken several critical measures to protect the interests of the people, such as issuing a temporary ban on logging and creating job opportunities in downstream industries.
“Our CM is also moving towards protecting Sabah rights, not only in oil and gas but also maritime resources.
“In this respect, the matters to be addressed include the Fisheries Act, the Continental Shelf Act, the Shipping Ordinance 1954 of Malaya and Ordinance of Sabah and Sarawak 1960, our environment ordinance, tourism and the Territorial Seas Act.”
He said Warisan was consistent in its election manifesto and would fulfil its pledges if given time. -FMT
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