Undo Past Injustices and Return Sabah, Sarawak's Oil – Dr. Jeffrey

KOTA KINABALU - “The time has now come for the federal government to put things right and undo the injustices of the past and return Sabah and Sarawak’s oil and gas resources” said Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief, cum Bingkor State Assemblyman, supporting Harris Salleh’s statement that the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74) should be abolished.

While the statement to abolish PDA74 is welcomed, people are wondering the coincidence that Harris made it on the 39th anniversary of the Double Six aircrash.

In hindsight, Harris should not have signed the Oil Agreement on 14 June 1976, a mere 8 days after the crash while Sabah was still in mourning, agreeing to receive 5% as the cash payment and waiving all rights to further claim for royalties under Sabah laws.   The cash payment is often wrongly referred to as “oil royalties”.

If Harris had not signed, like Tun Mustapha and Tun Fuad before him, the vesting of Sabah’s oil and gas resources by Tun Razak to Petronas on 26 March 1975 would not have been completed or perfected and Sabah would not have lost its ownership rights.

According to Sabah’s State Budget 2015, the 5% cash payment for 2015 is expected to be RM1,146,889,000 which means Petronas will get a whopping RM21.79 billion.   Such is Sabah’s annual loss from its oil and gas resources which comes out of Sabah’s soil but the bulk is sent by Petronas to fund Malaya’s development.

And the Sabah’s Umno BN leaders are happy with the present 5% arrangement, not even seeking an increase to 20% as requested by the Sarawak BN and opposition lawmakers, and allowing Sabahans to remain the poorest in the nation.    Now, Sabahans are further burdened with the 6% GST which will take another RM1.2 billion for the federal government.

“Sabah Umno leaders including State Speaker, who is from Umno, even have the audacity to stop my motions to discuss the constitutionality of PDA74 and the Oil Agreement 1976 or to grant the right for Sabahans to take legal action” said Dr. Jeffrey.

There is no doubt that PDA74 is a piece of unconstitutional and illegal legislation passed to seize Sabah and Sarawak’s oil and gas resources.   Oil and gas rights belonged to the States and were within the ambit of the State Lists in the Federal Constitution and the federal Parliament had no lawful authority to pass PDA74.

Presently, the Umno BN federal government is hanging on to power in Putrajaya with the support of Sabah and Sarawak.   PM Najib himself has said last month that he “owes” Sabah to be PM.

If Harris really means his suggestion, his decision in turnaround for Sabah’s oil to be returned will be supported wholeheartedly.  He should then endeavour and get the federal and Sabah governments to undo the past injustices and return Sabah’s oil and gas ownership rights.   After all, it was him that perfected the vesting of Sabah’s oil and gas to Petronas, 39 years ago.