THE Sarawak legislative assembly should be informed of the state’s negotiations with Putrajaya and Petronas over oil and gas resources, Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How said.

The state should also be transparent with the consultative committee on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) which was formed to advise the state government on negotiations with Putrajaya over Sarawak’s resources and rights.

“Why are members of the negotiating team appointed by the consultative committee being kept out of the negotiations thus far?

“I urged Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg to urgently convene a sitting of the legislative assembly to deliberate over this matter and to seek directions as to the future conduct of the state with the federal government and Petronas,” said See of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB).

See resigned from the bipartisan committee on Tuesday in protest over the state government’s bypassing of the committee to deal directly with Petronas and the federal government on the sales tax the national oil company owed the state.

See had objected to the state government’s setting up of another panel led by Awang Tengah to participate in the negotiations.

Awang Tengah has announced last week that the terms of settlement would be made known after August 3.

Awang Tengah also said a joint committee consisting of representatives of the Sarawak and federal governments and Petronas was negotiating over the finer details of the agreement.

See said the state government’s lack of transparency has bred confusion.

Petronas and the Sarawak government are currently in talks for an out-of-court settlement on the the oil firm’s tax arrears for petroleum extracted in the state, which are reported to amount to more than RM2 billion.

This comes after Petronas, on the federal government’s orders, withdrew its appeal against the Sarawak High Court’s decision to dismiss its request for a judicial review that the tax imposed by Sarawak was null and void.

Sarawak is to drop all its claims in its civil case against Petronas for the payment of the tax.

See said the MA63 consultative committee had resolved that federal laws governing Petronas’ right to Sarawak’s oil resources contravened the federal constitution, and that no further negotiation on such laws were needed.

These federal laws are the Petroleum Development Act 1974, the Continental Shelf Act 1966 and the Territorial Sea Act 2012. – July 17, 2020.