OPPOSITION MPs sparred with Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun over the latter’s refusal to allow an emergency motion to debate the seizure of Petronas’s overseas assets as part of a claim by heirs of the Sulu Sultanate against Putrajaya over unpaid compensation.

Led by Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Kota Belud-Warisan) who took Azhar to task for rejecting the motion, various MPs from Pakatan Harapan (PH) also questioned the Speaker’s decision to rule the topic off limits on grounds of sub judice.

Azhar appeared to lose his cool as Isnaraissah kept interrupting him, and left the chair to allow Deputy Speaker Rashid Hasnon to take over the proceedings.

Rashid then suspended Isnaraissah for two days and ordered her to leave the chambers. She refused and demanded to interject more, citing Parliament’s Standing Orders. Other PH MPs moved in to stand around her to prevent her from being escorted out of the House.

The shouting continued even as the Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Takiyuddin Hassan, took the floor to table an amendment bill to the Forestry Act.

Earlier, Isnaraissah lambasted Azhar for rejecting “such an important motion” as the claim by the Sulu sultanate heirs affected Malaysia’s assets and sovereignty. She wanted the government to explain why it only obtained a stay order on July 12 when the compensation award was ordered by the court in March.

Salahuddin Ayub (Pulai-PH) had also raised a similar motion to have the claim by the Sulu sultanate heirs debated.

Ramkarpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor-PH) chided Azhar, telling him that he was “in no position to reject this motion” due to a conflict of interest as his brother Idrus Harun is the Attorney-General.

R Sivarasa (Sungai Buloh-PH) said Azhar was wrong to use sub judice as a grounds to reject the motion.

“Somebody has to answer, this is billions of ringgits, our national assets, at risk. There’s nothing sub judice about that. The government owes the people an explanation.”

Azhar then said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mustapa Mohamad had already explained the sale of Petronas’ assets in Azerbaijan in a previous Dewan Rakyat sitting.

“So everybody knows what is happening with Petronas assets in Azerbaijan. And about the matter being sub judice, I have received information that it is indeed sub judice because there are still one or two legal proceedings ongoing.

“I also deny any conflict of interest, I don’t interfere with what my brother (the Attorney-General) does. Whatever happens in this Dewan, if it involves him, I will recuse myself.”

Azhar’s explanation did not satisfy the MPs who continued shouting for him to accept the motion. 

The Luxembourg offices of Petronas subsidiaries Petronas Azerbaijan (Shah Deniz) and Petronas South Caucasus were seized on July 11 by court bailiffs as part of an ongoing dispute between heirs of the Sulu sultanate and the government of Malaysia.

The seizure follows a French arbitration court’s decision in March that Malaysia must pay the heirs RM62.6 billion for ceding Sabah to British interests in 1878, which were then later passed to Malaysia.

The government had been paying the heirs an annual stipend of RM5,300, but cancelled this payment following the Lahad Datu incursion in 2013.

Malaysia was not part of the arbitration process and appears to have been caught by surprise at the seizure.

Law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Malaysia had obtained a stay of execution on the seizure. 

However, lawyers acting for the heirs of the Sulu sultanate say the stay is only enforceable in France, and not in other countries party to a United Nations treaty on arbitration, which puts Malaysia’s assets in other countries at risk.

Petronas confirmed the seizure, explaining its assets had already been divested and the proceeds repatriated. – July 18, 2022.