BIMP-EAGA chairman, activist pan Azalinas MA63 claims

Raymond Alfred says the law minister's claims are historically inaccurate while Johan Ariffin Samad says she should not make sweeping statements.

Raymond Alfred, who chairs the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), said such claims were “historically inaccurate, constitutionally incomplete and inconsistent” with MA63, the Borneo Post reported.

Raymond said prior to joining Malaya to form Malaysia, Sabah – then known as North Borneo – was a self-governing territory with full jurisdiction over its land, internal waters, territorial sea, seabed, subsoil and natural resources, including petroleum.

These rights were exercised under Sabah’s own laws, he said.

“MA63 did not extinguish Sabah’s territorial or resource rights; instead, it constitutionalised them within a federal framework premised on consent, autonomy and equality,” he was quoted as saying.

On Monday, Azalina said that MA63 did not contain any provisions on the ownership or regulation of oil and gas resources.

The management and regulation of the resource are determined by federal laws, specifically the Petroleum Development Act (Act 144).

Azalina said that under Act 144, Petronas was given whole ownership of petroleum in Malaysia, with exclusive rights and privileges to explore and acquire this resource, whether onshore or offshore.

Alfred said MA63 was the pact in which Sabah agreed to form Malaysia as an equal partner, “not as a subordinate state”.

“MA63 is not negotiable. History is not optional. Sabah’s rights are constitutional,” he said.

Activist Johan Ariffin Samad meanwhile described Azalina’s attempt to discredit MA63 as “shallow”.

He urged her to read Petronas’s 25th anniversary book titled “A Vision Realised”, adding that as a law minister, Azalina should not make sweeping statements.

Johan also uploaded a page from the book, highlighting the fact that Sabah and Sarawak had “previously exercised jurisdiction in their territory over exploration onshore, and up to a three-mile limit offshore”.

“Sabah and Sarawak governments were already heavily involved in oil and gas since the formation of Malaysia in 1963 and had awarded operating concessions to Shell and others,” he said.