IN March last year, the Sarawak government established the state’s own oil and gas exploration company, Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros), modelled after national oil company Petronas.

While many Sarawakians were trying to figure out what role the company would play alongside Petronas, which has absolute monopoly over the state’s carbon resources, alarm bells were reported to be ringing in the Twin Towers and Putrajaya on the Sarawak government’s intent.

Four months later, Sarawak amended its forgotten and grossly out-of-date Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO) to “strengthen the state’s regulatory control over the exploration and prospecting for petroleum and mining on land in the state”, as worded by Deputy Chief Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, who tabled the amendment in the state assembly. 

The amendment strips Petronas of its regulatory powers in the state and handed them to Petros.

At the beginning of the year, Sarawak imposed a 5% sales tax on all petroleum products exported from the state as a new source of revenue to fund its development agenda.

The tax will be levied on crude oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, chemical-based fertilisers and gas-to-liquid products. It is estimated it will collect RM3.9 billion.

Asked if all the moves were designed to roll back Putrajaya and Petronas’ powers over the management of the state’s oil and gas resources, Deputy Chief Minister James Masing replied: “Putrajaya tricked us once over the ownership of Sarawak oil and gas”.

“OMO gives us ownership of our oil and gas. Therefore, our claim to our oil and gas is not (political) posturing before the 2021 state election.

Masing said Sarawak had learnt a bitter lesson over the loss of control over its carbon resources in the past.

“It is a process of learning from experience. We will not be tricked a second time by Putrajaya.

“Nations go to war over such riches,” he said.

At the GPS launch, however, Masing was more blunt when he said Malaya had “our assets stolen in front of our eyes, and consequently we allowed ourselves to be trampled, abused, and stabbed in the back”.

He implored Sarawakians not to remain “dormant and keep quiet” in the face of what Malaya was doing.

The theme of the leaders of the four parties that make up GPS were similar – stand up and fight for Sarawak’s rights.

“It seems they are taking that kind of stand,” said PKR’s Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How.

“It is definitely not posturing for the election. We need the money for development. I support anything that is good for Sarawak.”

However, See, who sits in the technical committee of the special Cabinet committee on implementing the Malaysia Agreement 1963 does not believe in being confrontational with Malaya.

“(Having) an anti-federal sentiment, will it help you at the end of the day?

“Do you think you’re going to get more votes? This kind of sentiment is unhealthy,” he said.

See’s party colleagues showed more political bias in their views.

Francis Teron, a Bidayuh division leader, said the state’s so-called roll back of federal powers is merely posturing for the state election.

“Pretending to, or being rhetoric about wresting back Sarawak’s rights is the only weapon the GPS has against Pakatan Harapan.”

Teron claimed the “billions” in the state budget approved by the state assembly was dug from the state reserves.

“It proves one thing. (Prime Minister Dr) Mahathir had been right about greedy Sarawak politicians.

“They had been holding the people at ransom, politically, offering projects near elections as bait.”

Teron said the interests of Sarawakians are “far down the list of the current administration if we view their past conduct towards local issues”.

He pointed to native customary land rights, employment opportunity, issuance of land title, imbalance in development among the various ethnic groups.

“In short, I simply do not trust these people nor do I believe that they had turned saints overnight,” Teron said in reference to allegations that past Sarawak leaders in the then Barisan Nasional coalition like former chief ministers Abdul Rahman Yaakub and Abdul Taib Mahmud, were responsible for the loss of many Sarawak rights, particularly over oil and gas.

PKR Sarawak information chief Vernon Kedit shared Teron’s views and said the state government was merely “grandstanding” as they try to portray themselves as “protectors of Sarawak rights”.

Kedit said if they are protecting Sarawak rights as they claimed to, “they should handle the elephant in the room”, he said in reference to the never ending NCR land dispute.

“Dayaks deprived of their land rights. Talk about that one first, then we talk about the others.

“If that is not settled, you are not protecting Sarawakian rights.” – February 10, 2019.