THE Petroleum Development Act 1974 and related laws will be revised and amended to allow Sabah to manage its own oil resources, said de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong.

This comes after the state assembly yesterday approved amendments to the Land Ordinance (Cap 68), extending Sabah’s territorial ownership over the seabed and subsoil right up to the continental shelf.

“Now is the time for the Warisan-led state to take steps to manage and run its own oil and gas resources more effectively.

“This is in line with Warisan and the Pakatan Harapan government’s pledge to ensure equal rights for Sabah, as announced by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed during the Malaysia Day celebrations on September 16,” he said during a dinner organised by his office in Kota Kinabalu tonight.

Liew said he supports the state assembly’s move to amend Section 4 of the Land Ordinance, describing it as a holistic approach to seeking taxes from the sale of minerals.

He said the amendments will prompt Putrajaya to look into and make changes to federal laws, too.

There are two federal acts that are ultra vires the amended Land Ordinance, namely the Petroleum Development Act and Territorial Sea Act. – November 16, 2018.