Senator: PETRONAS, Malaysia owe Sarawak respect, fair treatment for RM1 trillion in contributions

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Nov 21: Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) must face the reality that Sarawak has rightful ownership over its gas resources and comply with the State’s laws, given how extensively both the federal government and the national oil giant have relied on these resources for decades.

This was the firm assertion by Senator Robert Lau in response to recent national media reports portraying Sarawak negatively for appointing Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) as the sole gas aggregator in Sarawak.

Lau pointed to a statement by former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who accused Sarawak of using “blackmail” and “threats” in asserting its rights.

Lau dismissed these claims, emphasising the moral obligation Malaysia owes to Sarawak, which has contributed over RM1 trillion to the national economy up to 2014 through the Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974.

“For 50 years, PETRONAS and the federal government have reaped immense benefits from Sarawak’s wealth.

“A ‘thank you’ is overdue, not baseless accusations against Sarawak’s rightful claims,” Lau said in a statement today.

Lau also raised concerns over the management of national revenues from petroleum, questioning how Malaysia’s national debt has ballooned to RM1.5 trillion.

“How has PETRONAS spent this money? How much of this has been reinvested to help develop Sarawak, bearing in mind that one of the key promises and inducement for Sarawak to come on board to form Malaysia in 1963 was to have faster pace of development,” he said.

Lau backed Sarawak Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi for his strong and fact-based defense of Sarawak’s stance during the Sarawak Legislative Assembly sitting on Nov 18.

“It is unfortunate that Sarawak’s voice is not heard throughout the country as it was not covered in the national press,” he said.

Lau highlighted Julaihi’s revelation of stark inequities in natural gas allocation. Sarawak contributes over 60 per cent of Malaysia’s total gas production, yet 94 per cent of it is used by PETRONAS to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export to Japan and Korea.

Meanwhile, gas from Peninsular Malaysia is reserved for domestic use at subsidised rates.

In comparison, only six per cent of Sarawak’s natural gas is allocated for local industries and power generation, with prices dictated by PETRONAS.

With such an enormous contribution to the national coffers, Julaihi pressed that Sarawak deserves better attention, treatment and support from PETRONAS.

At the very least, Julaihi asserted, PETRONAS must comply with Sarawak’s laws when operating in the State and allocate more gas to support the industrial development of Sarawak and its transition towards a green economy. — DayakDaily

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