SARAWAK Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg today told state lawmakers that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government will seek greater authority over education and health matters.

He said the Federal Constitution has provided Sarawak with enough authority to take over the executive functions of these two departments from the federal administration.

“The GPS government feels that the performance of the federal government on these two important subject matters have been unsatisfactory.

“There is sufficient constitutional authority under Article 95C(1)(b) read with Article 80(4) for the federal government to transfer executive functions for these matters to the state as well as to provide adequate funding for the state to discharge these executive functions,” he said when winding up debates in the legislative assembly.

He also gave the assurance that when powers on education and health are devolved to the state, “the state government will be able to provide the standards of education and health services that will meet the expectations of Sarawakians.”

Handing back matters over health and education was part of Sarawak Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto but after a year in federal power, it has yet to materialised.

The chief minister today also highlighted a long list of actions, dating as far back to 1966, that the state had done to prevent efforts by the federal government to undermine Sarawak’s constitutional rights and safeguards.

He was refuting the opposition’s claim that the state government in the last 55 years had “done nothing” to stop the encroachments or reclaim the eroded rights.

Abang Johari said the state government, even when it was still in the Barisan Nasional coalition, had stayed vigilant against all the federal attempts.

He told the assembly that when Parliament passed the Continental Shelf Act and the Petroleum Mining Act in 1966 with the stated aim of “taking control of the continental shelf and the exploration of mining of oil and gas within the boundaries of Sarawak”, the state government objected to the extension.

He said as a result, those two laws from July 20, 1966, applied only to states in the peninsula.

Abang Johari said the state’s effort was thwarted when the federal government in 1969 used the emergency powers to extend the laws to Sarawak.

The federal government had proclaimed a state of emergency that year following race riots in the peninsula.

The chief minister added the extension of the two laws ceased to have effect when the proclamation of emergency was annulled by both houses of Parliament in December 2011.

He disclosed in 1983, Parliament had also passed the Perbadanan Pembekalan Letrik Sarawak Act 1983 for a federal takeover of the state’s power provider, the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (Sesco).

“This was despite the Borneo states (Legislative Powers) Order, 1963 made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, under Article 95C of the Federal Constitution, which extended the legislative authority to include electricity and distribution of gas to the state.”

He said even though Sabah complied with the law and relinquished its legislative authority, Sarawak refused to hand over Sesco to federal control.

“Today Sesco, under Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), is the pride of Sarawak and is one of the biggest local companies in terms of capitalisation, supplying energy at the cheapest tariffs in the Asean region, attracting many investors to the state.”

The chief minister said Parliament in 1993 passed the Gas Supply Act 1993 “with the intention of applying it throughout Malaysia”.

“The state government objected to its application on the ground that it would infringe the state’s legislative powers over distribution of gas.

“To pre-empt the application of the said Act to Sarawak, the state legislature passed the Sarawak Gas Supply Services (Operating Company), Ordinance 1995 to ensure that our own state Company continues to supply piped gas.

“This was followed with the insistence by the state government that a clause be inserted into the Gas Supply (Amendment) Act, 2016 that this Act will not be applicable to Sarawak unless consented to by the state assembly.”

Abang Johari said to further protect the state’s rights, it passed the Distribution of Gas Ordinance in 2016.

He added Sarawak’s then lucrative timber industry was also coveted by the federal government.

In 1992, the federal government wanted to extend Part III of the Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB) (Incorporation) Act, 1973 to the state after extending it to Sabah.

This would have required all exporters, importers, traders, suppliers and graders of timber and timber products to be registered with MTIB.

He said the Sarawak government objected to the extension.

The state government, he added, had also objected to the extension of the then Fisheries Act, 1963, an act that would have required all fishing activities in the Rejang River to be licensed by federal Fisheries Department.

“The state’s authority to regulate riverine or inland fisheries would be adversely affected.

“There are also other instances where the state government has intervened to prevent attempts made by the federal authorities which would have infringe the constitutional safeguard of the state.

“This includes the proposed extension of the Legal Profession Act 1976 which would have allowed lawyers from outside Sarawak to practise before our Courts, and the proposed merger of the High Court in Borneo with the High Court in Malaya in the year 1973.” – May 9, 2019