O&G issue: Stay united, reclaim what is rightfully ours, says rep

KUCHING (Sept 9): Sarawakians must have the unity of purpose to reclaim what is rightfully theirs, said Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap.

“There is a possibility that Petronas wants to take Sarawak to court over the gas-aggregated issue and the gas exploitation of gas revenue in Sarawak.

“But what we can learn from here is that as Sarawakians, we must stay together because we are at the crossroads,” he said in his speech at the launching of the ‘Brilliant Chef 2.0 and Culinary Demonstration’ here yesterday.

He was commenting on a report that Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) was weighing the possibility of filing for a court injunction against the Sarawak government over the latter’s demands on increased control over the country’s oil and gas extraction and trading.

In this regard, Yap emphasised that disunity among Sarawakians could allow the outsiders, particularly political parties from outside the region, to take advantage of this situation and exert their influence.

“And when we talk about unity, we are talking about unity of purpose. So you’ll find that there are a lot of political parties from outside now planting their seeds in Sarawak.

“And these people, on the surface, might tell you certain things but behind they’ll be doing other things.

“As the Sarawak people become more educated, we begin to see that we have been unfairly treated,” Yap said, citing the heightened awareness of the Malaysia Agreement (MA63) in the state.

Adding on, he said Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has planned to include the MA63 in the syllabus of a new law school at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, as part of the government’s initiative to foster a deeper understanding of the state’s rights as enshrined in the agreement.