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June 12, 2018 · 1 min read

Petronas, please pay attention to Sarawak’s sovereignty claims

Tom KirkmanIndependent Project Manager

Petronas, please pay attention:
===========================

“Sarawak gained its independence from the United Kingdom and was a sovereign state when it joined the Federation of Malaya, Singapore and North Borneo in the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

“We were the owners of our own oil resources, every last drop of it. We agreed to form Malaysia based on an international agreement called the Malaysia Agreement 1963. The Malaysia Agreement was executed by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore.”

There were five parties to the Agreement when it was executed in London on July 9, 1963. The Agreement was registered by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Sept 21, 1970.

It is an international agreement between sovereign states which cannot be amended unless by mutual consent of all the signatories. There is no amendment to this date. The signatories to the Malaysia Agreement remain bound by it.

No law in Malaysia, not even the Constitution, can amend or override the Malaysia Agreement. There are specific safeguards in the Malaysia Agreement for the rights of Sarawak and Sabah. …”

theborneopost.com ↗

FROM THE THREAD

Tom's notes 14

  1. Tom Kirkman

    Article continues:
    ================

    The Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA) is only a Malaysian statute and it cannot alter the rights enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement. The PDA was passed without the consent of the people of Sarawak.

    The then-Chief Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Yaakub (now the late Tun) had no right to give 100 per cent of our oil rights away in perpetuity without the consent of the people of Sarawak, UPP said.

    “He was acting beyond his powers and jurisdiction. His action in purporting to sign away Sarawak oil rights was unlawful and we do not recognise his unilateral act.”

    ... UPP is of the view that it is open to the government of Sarawak, a signatory to the Malaysia Agreement, to file a suit in London to seek relevant declaratory relief on the interpretation of the Malaysia Agreement in respect of Sarawak rights arising under the Malaysia Agreement.

    ... The Malaysia Agreement supersedes the PDA and the Constitution. Without the Malaysia Agreement, there would be no Malaysia and therefore, no Constitution and no PDA, UPP said.

  2. Tom Kirkman

    I've mentioned before, the Malaysia Act 1963 is an international treaty, which supercedes the Petroleum Development Act 1974.

    Sarawak Parliament never approved the Petroleum Development Act 1974, which renders the PDA 1974 effectively unconstitutional, in my opinion. This is now up to the courts to decide.

    My earlier comments:

    https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6409258026884263936

  3. Tom Kirkman

    Mohd Faiz Ariff Hadid duly noted. Please also note that Petronas is the party initiating the legal action, and not the federal government initiating the legal action.

    It would be a good idea to pick up a hard copy of The Edge financial weekly newspaper. It costs RM 5 and this week's issue covers a number of Petronas related topics. No, you won't find the info online for free.

    Side note, I've contacted someone in the government about suggestions for resolving this mess.

  4. Tom Kirkman

    NO NEED FOR SECESSION !
    This can all be worked out *amicably* at the negotiation table.

  5. Tom Kirkman

    NO NEED FOR SECESSION !
    This can all be worked out *amicably* at the negotiation table.

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