KUCHING: The Sarawak government has filed a petition in the Federal Court to determine the constitutional validity of three petroleum-related federal laws and whether they continue to apply to Sarawak.
State Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier's Department Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said the Petroleum Development Act 1974, Continental Shelf Act 1966 and Petroleum Mining Act 1966 adversely affected Sarawak's boundaries as well as the state's rights to the petroleum resources found offshore within those boundaries.
Under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), she said, the rights to petroleum resources in the seabed within Sarawak's boundaries were vested in the state, not in the Federal Government or Federation of Malaysia.
"Item 2(c) of the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution vests legislative authority in the state legislative assembly to regulate the exercise of such petroleum rights through issuance of mining leases and certificates and prospecting licenses," she said in a statement on Monday (Feb 23).
Sharifah Hasidah also said the Continental Shelf Act and Petroleum Mining Act were originally applicable in Peninsular Malaysia but extended to Sarawak through an Ordinance passed after the Emergency Proclamation in 1969.
Since the Emergency was annulled by Parliament in 2011, these laws should no longer apply to Sarawak, she added.
"Therefore, the Sarawak government is constrained to seek the determination of the Federal Court under Article 4(3) and 128(1) of the Federal Constitution as to the validity of the federal Acts insofar as to their application to Sarawak," she said.
Sharifah Hasidah said Sarawak was justified in seeking the Federal Court's ruling on this matter to safeguard the state's rights and interests as enshrined in the MA63 and Articles 4(3) and (4) of the Federal Constitution.
"The determination of these constitutional issues will also provide clarity on the regulatory framework for the oil and gas industry in Sarawak, especially to investors in the upstream and downstream businesses of the industry," she said.
In addition, Sharifah Hasidah said the Sarawak government will object to Petronas' application to the Federal Court seeking judicial clarity on several state laws regulating the national oil company's petroleum operations, business and other activities in Sarawak.
The application was filed on Jan 10 and is scheduled for hearing on March 16.
"This application does not fall within the Federal Court's exclusive original jurisdiction under Article 128(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution," Sharifah Hasidah said.
Nevertheless, she said the Sarawak government remained committed to continuing discussions with the Federal Government to reach an amicable resolution on these issues.
She said this would strengthen national unity, promote more sustainable use of oil and gas resources and enable Sarawak to contribute significantly towards Malaysia's prosperity and economic growth.
