The almost forgotten, or hidden truth, was revealed last month when Parti Kerjasama Rakyat Sabah (Pakar) secretary-general Zainnal Ajamain stated that all oil and gas in the territorial waters of Sarawak and Sabah belong to the state governments and not Petronas.
He said the demand made by Sabah BN Youth to increase the oil royalty for Sabah and Sarawak to 20% was them being ‘deluded’ into thinking that they could only claim for an increase.
“Obviously the (Sabah BN) youths have been misled to think that they can only demand an increase, (but) they are ignorant to the fact that the Sabah and Sarawak governments are actually the owners of these territorial waters,” Zainnal said.
According to Zainnal, the situation was created when Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak lifted the Emergency Proclamation on Nov 23, 2011, as all laws created by the Emergency (Essential Powers) Act 1979 is only effective for six months, all laws expired on May 24, 2012.
The legal owners of Sabah and Sarawak territorial waters are the respective state governments and the federal government no longer has the rights to transfer these territorial waters to Petronas.
“Therefore why do the people of Sabah and Sarawak need to ‘demand or request’ from the federal government, 20% of their own property?” Zainnal asked.
Now that the truth is being made known to the greater public, the bigger question must be, “What will the Sarawak and Sabah governments do next?”
Other than the demand made by Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem for oil royalties to be increased to 20 % and while his Sabah counterpart Musa Aman has ‘asserted’ the many calls by the Sabahan politicians, nothing was mentioned by any of the ruling elites in both territories about reclaiming full rights, the 100% rights.
Pro-rights Sabahans will fire their first ‘salvo’ at their government by holding a peaceful gathering in front of the Sabah State Assembly on April 14, demanding that their government be firm and demand for the state’s oil and gas rights.
Not an easy task, as Sabah politics is highly controlled by Umno.
In Sarawak, fortunately there is no Umno.
The move toward reclaiming what actually belongs to us must start now, or the crucial opportunity that presents itself at the moment may never come again.
For Sarawakians who may be oblivious about how much the oil and gas revenue is, here are the figures.
From 2001 to 2010, Petronas’ oil and gas total revenue in Sarawak was RM255.261 billion, about RM25.6 billion a year. The Sarawak government received royalties totaling RM12.86 billion, an average of RM1.29 billion a year.
With Petronas no longer having legal rights to Sarawak’s oil and gas since May 2012, almost two years, based on the figures mentioned, the Malayan-based corporation would have illegitimately acquired approximately RM50 billion from the Sarawak shores.
Meanwhile Sarawak only received about RM2.5 billion in royalties, from what in reality is 100% theirs.
What were our Sarawakian leaders doing all this while? Were they fully ignorant? Had they ‘closed one eye’, or were they under orders, (voluntarily or otherwise)?
These questions should be forwarded not only to the ruling Barisan Nasional but also to the increasingly strong Pakatan Rakyat.
What is the next step?
Now that the truth about the oil and gas rights in Sarawak is out, what will they do next?
Will they mention it at the upcoming Sarawak State Assembly sitting? And if they do, why only mention it, why not take back what is actually belongs to us?
Will they be docile and only make ‘demands or requests’? Will they remain silent? Or will they yield to their Barisan Nasional leaders in Malaya?
And how about Pakatan Rakyat, Chong Chieng Jen and Baru Bian?
It is now time for you to think of your fellow Sarawakians and claim back our RM25 billion rather than the paltry RM1.25 billion. Or the ludicrous RM8 billion (20 percent) Pakatan promised during pre-elections?
Are you afraid to aggravate your Malayan masters, who are also dreaming of taking control of the RM25 billion per year (Note: Nurul Izzah stated that oil and gas production should be nationalised)?
All of you, regardless of your political affiliation, do a great service to Sarawak and its people!
Sarawak and its people are still living in comparative want with bad logistics and transportation networks, pitiful amenities, poor infrastructure, substandard hospitals, schools and public utilities.
Meanwhile every year, billions of ringgit slips away, right from under noses. Sarawak needs the billions. Oil and gas rights is the essential key.
Pessimists, particularly those in Malaya, may say that many factors, apart from the oil and gas rights, must be considered in the current Sarawakian struggle, or what they label as ‘self-indulgent daydreaming of Sarawak nationalists’.
Perhaps they (the pessimists) are correct, oil rights is not everything. But the oil rights MUST be the foundation of the Sarawakians’ struggle. Take back what is ours!
Also read:
‘Petronas, Putrajaya have no rights in Borneo waters’
Winston Way
FMT
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