Demand? What demand!

I have never taken the rights of Petronas over gas resources and gas distribution. There are people who say that Petronas will be badly affected by Petros. No, no such thing. I know that it is a sin to take over the rights of others. But it is also a sin of others to take our rights.

– Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg

Let’s get one thing perfectly clear. Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), or Sarawak for that matter, wants unity, a strong and stable government, and policy clarity. Period!

We have no hidden agenda, so stop questioning our sincerity. In last week’s episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast featuring Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, the Premier had to clarify that Sarawak had no ulterior motive whatsoever when it decided to throw its support behind Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to form the unity government.

No, we are not aiming to be a country within a country as Keluar Sekejap hosts Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan implied. On the contrary, as Abang Johari stressed: we will remain within Malaysia, and our goal is only to drive Malaysia’s economy.

Sarawak just wants a stable Malaysia for the benefit of everyone. We backed Anwar to lead the country after the 2022 general election just as we supported Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri before Anwar for the sake of political and economic stability.

“We agreed to join the government. Despite our small numbers, you needed us for political stability which continues to this day.

“Our anthem is very clear, Sarawak is within Malaysia…if Sarawak has the resources that can be strengthened, Malaysia’s strength is there.

“Hence, we add value to the resources; if Sarawak’s economy is strong, Malaysia’s economy will also be strong,” said Abang Johari.

Therefore, Malaya should stop alleging that Sarawak is becoming a country within a country. Many Malayans don’t seem to understand or choose to conveniently ignore the state’s background and history; what we are doing and implementing is within the ambit of the Federal and Sarawak Constitutions and of course the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), plus the Cobbold Commission.

But some Malayan leaders are accusing us of making demands in return for the GPS coalition’s support for Putrajaya. The Premier was forced to clarify during the podcast interview that we only want the federal government to restore our rights, in line with MA63. Nothing more, nothing less!

“I want to make it clear that we have never made unnecessary demands. You want GPS, I support you but I never demand from the three prime ministers. If I had wanted to demand, I would have demanded other things. Except that I only asked for the federal government to respect the agreement. Any prime minister must acknowledge the MA63, isn’t that right?” Aptly said Datuk Patinggi, you couldn’t have clarified any better than this.

Putrajaya must accept the matter well because Sarawak is only demanding the rights that should be given to us. We never gave up our rights when we helped to form Malaysia.

Since he assumed Sarawak’s top position in January 2017, Abang Johari has reiterated that all state rights prior to the formation of Malaysia remain in force unless amended by Parliament with the consent of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly.

One of the rights touches on the demarcation of Sarawak, where the sea boundaries extend to the continental shelf, including the seabed and below the seabed.

“This is one of the rights brought by Sarawak when it merged with the Federation of Malaya, Sabah, and Singapore on Sept 16 1963, which cannot be handed over to other parties,” the Premier said.

Not many are aware that the Federal Constitution recognises that the territory of each state in Malaysia remains as it was before Malaysia Day on Sept 16, 1963, which simply means any law which changes our boundaries cannot be passed without Sarawak’s consent.

Again, or rather yet again, the establishment of the government-owned Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) is being questioned, and it can be irritating for having to repeatedly clarify our position.

Abang Johari had to explain that our oil and gas (O&G) exploration firm was set up to serve the O&G industry, and that includes Petronas; Petros is not out to pit against the national O&G company.
Petros’ existence is in line with the Federal Constitution.

At an event involving Sarawak O&G industry vendors early this month, he said anyone unhappy with the cooperation between Petronas and Petros can take the matter to court if the cooperation is seen as unlawful.

We are not attempting to take control of the O&G industry through Petros, which Abang Johari clarified when he said, “Whatever we are doing is based on the law. There is no issue of which is superior or inferior between Petronas and Petros.”

Detractors should realise Sarawak is not a Johnny-come-lately to the O&G industry scene since it has extensive experience in the industry as the state’s petroleum company was established in 1910, while Petronas was founded more than half a century later in 1974.

“Sarawak is not violating the spirit of cooperation with Petronas. I am stressing this to clarify the situation as there are incorrect claims on social media about Sarawak’s involvement in the oil and gas industry through Petros,” said Abang Johari.

The Premier also reminded the federal government of the private sector’s role in the economy.
“You have to remember that the driver of the economy is the private sector, if it is strong, who will take the tax? Not the Sarawak government. Corporate tax where? So, we have to understand economic management.

“If the private sector is driven well, the central government benefits as well; the central government taxes, not the state, but the state benefits in terms of income and job opportunities.”

Hopefully, with Abang Johari’s repeated clarification and explanation, certain quarters in Malaya – including the opposition – will understand our rights and accept Sarawak’s stand in the federation.

The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune.