Sabah to approve gas supply bill soon, says CM

 

Chief minister Hajiji Noor said the move to allow Sabah to regulate its gas supply was a step towards realising the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah state assembly is expected to gazette the Sabah State Bill for gas supply at the upcoming sitting, which will see the East Malaysian state regulate the resource.

Chief minister Hajiji Noor said after the bill was enacted, the Energy Commission of Sabah would take over all regulatory power for onshore gas supply (regasification, transmission, distribution, use of gas by private licensees and retail) in the state with immediate effect.

Hajiji said this after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that Petronas would hand over regulatory power of Sabah’s gas supply to the state.

Hajiji welcomed the decision and described it as a step towards realising the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

“The state government has been steadfast in our pursuit to take control of, and manage, the state’s oil and gas resources,” he said.

The chief minister said he had raised the need to fulfil the MA63 during his first meeting with Anwar after the latter was appointed prime minister.

Meanwhile, Upko outgoing president and Tuaran MP Wilfred Madius Tangau described the decision as strategic in terms of attracting investors in the oil and gas industry.

“It has long been Upko’s position that Sabah’s resources should be used to solve the problem of electricity generation in the state first and the excesses should be used to develop the petrochemical industry before converting it to LNG (liquefied natural gas),” he said.

He added that once Sabah was empowered to regulate its own gas supply, the Sabah Oil and Gas Development Corporation, which was established in 2010, would finally be able to play its role. - FMT