SARAWAK Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg has assured Sarawakians that disagreements with the federal government regarding provisions in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) can be resolved, saying that progress so far into the talks were satisfactory.

“So far so good,” he said in his first public comments last night about last Tuesday’s latest round of talks by the Special Cabinet Committee to review MA63, which include prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and leaders from the Borneo states.

Abang Johari, addressing members of the Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) at their 63rd anniversary dinner in Kuching last night, said the state has managed to get Putrajaya to address most of its grievances.

“I have a feeling that whatever grievances we have with Putrajaya can be settled,” he told the Ibans – the state’s largest ethnic group and an important vote bank for any political party – who had also converged in the state capital for their 35th triennial general assembly today.

The chief minister assured them that the state “will exercise whatever rights we have in the federal constitution” to extract the maximum benefits for Sarawakians.

“The 5% sales tax is not the end yet,” he said alluding to the 5% petroleum sales tax the state had imposed on January 1 on all petroleum products produced by the state after the federal government refused the state’s request to raise the oil and gas royalty from 5% to 20.

The tax is levied on crude oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, chemical-based ferti­lisers and gas-to-liquid products that are exported.

Petroleum products for local consumption are exempted from the tax.

The sales tax, which Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and Economic Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali are strongly against, is expected to generate between RM3 and RM4 billion in revenue this year to support Sarawak’s development agenda.

“We still have the OMO,” he said in reference to the 60 year-old Oil and Mining Ordinance which was amended last year to give the state total control over oil and gas in the state.

Under the amendment, state oil company Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) will take over all control of oil and gas businesses from Petronas, and all oil and gas companies operating in the state, including Petronas, are now required to obtain all the necessary operating licences from the state.

Sarawak has given Petronas and the oil companies until the end of this year to obtain the required licences.

Law minister Liew Vui Keong also announced in Kota Kinabalu last night that the cabinet has agreed to amend Article 1 (2) of the federal constitution to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners with the federated Malay states in the peninsular.

Amending Article 1(2) is one of the key demands of Sabah and Sarawak.

Liew, who said the decision to amend the constitution was reached at the cabinet meeting last Wednesday, also said he will table the bill to amend the federal constitution at the next Parliament session in March.

The Special Cabinet Committee to review the MA63, first met on December 17. – March 9, 2019.