PDA 1974 shows federal govt lacked original oil and gas jurisdiction, says PDP vice president

Baru Bian (file photo)

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Jan 29: The Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974 itself proves that the federal government did not originally possess constitutional jurisdiction over oil and gas resources, Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) vice president Baru Bian said today.

In a press statement, Baru Bian said he respectfully disagreed with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said’s recent assertion that there is “nothing in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) on oil and gas ownership and regulation,” describing such a view as an oversimplification of a complex constitutional reality.

Baru Bian argued that if the federal government had already held inherent constitutional authority over petroleum resources, there would have been no necessity for Parliament to enact legislation to vest ownership in Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS).

“Legislation is not enacted to claim powers already possessed; it is enacted to create or acquire authority that did not previously exist,” he said, adding that the PDA is therefore strong evidence that petroleum jurisdiction did not originally lie with the federal government.

He said that prior to the formation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963, Sarawak was a self-governing territory with clear jurisdiction over its land and natural resources, including petroleum, which was regulated under laws such as the Sarawak Mining Ordinance and related legislation in force at the time.

According to Baru Bian, there was no surrender or transfer of oil and gas ownership or regulatory authority to the Federation in MA63 or its accompanying instruments, and under constitutional principles, powers not expressly ceded remain with the original authority.

He also stressed that MA63 must be read together with the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report, which he described as the backbone of the agreement and which consistently affirmed that the Borneo States were to retain control over land and natural resources.

“Oil and gas, being resources beneath land and territorial waters, fall squarely within this domain unless expressly transferred—which they were not,” he said.

Baru Bian further said MA63 is not an ordinary agreement but a foundational constitutional compact, and as such must be interpreted purposively, with due regard to historical context and the intentions of the parties at the time.

He stressed that the issue was not about confrontation with the federal government or undermining national unity, but about honouring the constitutional guarantees upon which Malaysia was formed.

“The assertion that MA63 is irrelevant to oil and gas because it is silent on the matter is legally unsound and historically inaccurate,” he said, adding that silence does not amount to surrender.

He concluded that Sarawak’s position on oil and gas is rooted in law, history and constitutional principle, and deserves serious engagement in the spirit of MA63 and genuine federalism. — DayakDaily