SARAWAK Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg has reiterated the state will not budge an inch in attempts to dilute its rights on land matters.

Without stating who is attempting to dilute the rights and why, Abang Johari’s remark seemed to be directed at Putrajaya amid drawn out talks on a “new commercial agreement” with national oil company Petronas.

The new agreement is to draw up the company’s new role in Sarawak after the state repudiated the Petroleum Development Act 1974.

The law gave Petronas monopoly over all petroleum and gas resources nationwide, including Sarawak.

Sarawak has disputed this law, insisting it does not apply in the state because it was never ratified by the Sarawak Assembly.

Sarawak had also argued that since oil and gas discovered so far are “underneath state land”, it comes under the purview of the state’s oil law, the Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO).

In his address at the Land and Survey Department’s innovation and integrity day in Lawas today, Abang Johari drew a parallel between this dispute and that of China’s dispute with its neighbours over the South China Sea.

“What happens in the South China Sea has some relevance to our land, that is the continental shelf,” he said.

The chief minister was referring to another disputed law, the Continental Shelf Act 2012, which denied the state the rights to the resource rich Sarawak continental shelf.

Under the law, Sarawak’s sea boundary is limited to only 4.8km offshore. Sarawak has argued that delineating the state’s boundary is a violation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Abang Johari said he will never negotiate on giving up the land rights.

Repeating his opening remarks at the inaugural meeting of the MA63 steering committee chaired by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, he said “there will be no deal on this”.

“Land is state rights. No negotiation.

“Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will defend this position.

“We are very firm on our rights on land,” Abang Johari said, insinuating that there are people who would like to infringe upon Sarawak land. – September 29, 2020.