Voon Lee Shan urges Sarawak, Sabah governments to seek repeal of PDA74

 

By Simon Peter

KUCHING, March 12, 2025: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan (picture) today urged the Sarawak and Sabah governments to seek Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74) be repealed and have all oil and gas resources be returned to the two states.

He said Petronas, through PDA74, has taken away the oil and gas resources from the two Borneo states, causing much loss to them.

“PDA74 is a short Act and only has ten sections. The Act gives exceptional wide powers to the prime minister to do almost anything concerning the control and direction of Petronas and all other matters mentioned in the Act,” Voon, a senior lawyer, said in a statement.

 He added the wide powers given in the Act could easily be subjected to abuse by the prime minister, saying that it does not impose any obligation  on the prime minister  to disclose anything in the management of Petronas in parliament.

“The prime minister is not accountable to parliament for his actions.

“At the same time, Petronas which was created as a corporation under the Companies Act 1965 and being not a statutory body could not be subjected to the scrutiny of the Auditor-General.

“It seems that the prime minister have access to moneys and assets of Petronas and can use them for any purpose the prime minister thinks fit and suitable, like acquisition of sick companies by Petronas to prevent the sick companies from collapsing and so on.

“It is doubtful whether the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has the power under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009 to probe any abuse of power by the prime minister concerning the handling and use  moneys and assets of Petronas.    

“As it is now, it seems that the prime minister can control the production of crude oil and  gas and only prime minister knows how much crude oil and gas are extracted from Sarawak and Sabah.  

“There is nothing in the PDA74 to allow Sarawak and Sabah governments to find out from the  prime minister or from Petronas how much crude oil and gas been extracted by Petronas from Sarawak and Sabah in past years and where revenues from oil and gas been used or managed  by Petronas or by the prime minister.  

“There is also nothing in the PDA74 to allow the Sarawak and Sabah governments to be informed or to intervene the giving away of any oil producing areas to anybody or neighbouring countries permanently.  

“It seems that there is also nothing in PDA74 to prevent the prime minister to sign away permanently any oil producing areas in the shores of Sarawak and Sabah to anybody or to neighbouring countries,” Voon said.

 

 

Petronas, Petros should consider going to court to determine what "sole gas aggregator" actually means, asks Prof Chin

 

By Simon Peter

KUCHING, March 12, 2025: Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) and Petrol Sarawak Berhad (Petros) should consider asking the court to determine the meaning of “sole gas aggregator” that is a subject of different interpretations by both parties.

Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania, Australia, Professor James Chin said it is his view that going to court is the most effective way to settle the matter.

“It appears that the agreement between Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is real, but only because both parties have differing interpretations of what was actually settled.

“So, does a deal exist? Yes, it does—a political deal, to be precise—but the crux lies in the details. These details seem to pertain more to the commercial sphere than the political one,” he said on his Facebook when commenting on a new article published in online news portal Free Malaysia Today.

However, he said both sides hesitate to pursue the matter to court, likely because it could unearth other inconvenient issues like Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74) and Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 (OMO58).

“As a result, we can anticipate ongoing friction, with the Abang Johari and Anwar  needing to reconvene again to clarify the terms,” Chin said.

He said many Sarawakians feel that Sarawak is being bullied by Petronas, and many will view Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) as negligent for not securing a clearer agreement back in January.

“Petronas is really behaving badly because it is not used to anymore taking a piece of its rice bowl,” he said, adding that it keeps forgetting that Sarawakians/Sabahans have been paying for Petronas's rice bowl since 1974.

“We are fed up; even in this 'deal'. it is lopsided with Petronas still keeping the LNG, where the bulk of the money is,” Chin said.

According to FMT, quoting a source, Petronas and Petros appear deadlocked in negotiations over gas rights, with Sarawak sticking to its original demands despite giving assurances to the contrary.

“Sarawak’s stance has not changed since last year although federal and Sarawak government leaders have announced that negotiations were progressing,” source told FMT.

The source said the Sarawak government is insisting that all domestic gas users, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants located in the state, must comply with its Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016(DGO16) and buy their gas from Petros.

“Needless to say, such an arrangement is bound to disrupt existing commercial agreements Petronas has with end users in the state,” said the source.

On Feb 17, Anwar told Parliament that Sarawak had agreed that the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA) will remain the overarching framework for governance in Malaysia’s oil and gas industry.

The prime minister also announced that all Petronas’s existing agreements will remain intact and governed entirely by the PDA, and that Petronas and its subsidiaries will not be obliged to comply with any additional requirements imposed under state law.

However, Anwar said Petros would be allowed to perform its role as Sarawak’s gas aggregator under the DGO, which “must be read together” with the PDA.

“The inability of both sides to come to a compromise highlights the complexity of having two overlapping laws.

“Both Petronas and Petros are adamant that they are exercising their strict legal rights, with Petronas pointing to the PDA and Petros to the DGO to support their respective positions,” said the source.

The source said this was why Anwar called for a “commercial solution” to resolve the long-running dispute.

“Unless a commercial compromise is achieved, both oil companies and their respective governments will find themselves in a ‘lose-lose’ position over the longer term,” the source said.

Earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said Petronas and Petros were still hammering out the details of their proposed collaboration.

He said Petros had recently submitted a letter to Petronas setting out its proposed terms, which have yet to be agreed upon.

Preparations for free tertiary education in Sarawak have been finalised, says Sagah

KUCHING, March 12, 2025: Sarawak Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn (picture, right) today said all is set for the take-off of the free tertiary education at five state-owned higher institutions next year.

He said the preparations for the start of the free tertiary education have been finalised by the ministry and the higher institutions.

“We are only waiting for the disbursement of funds (from the state government),” he told reporters after the launch of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Catalysts initiative for rural schools for the April-July, 2025 session.

He said the disbursement of funds by the state government is not a problem.

He said the first enrollment for free tertiary into these institutions will be held in February or March next year, after the results of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) have been out.

He said his ministry does not impose quota on the number of students each institution will take, saying that the enrollment depends of the science courses they offer.

Sagah said the state government only provides free tertiary education to students who take up science courses, such as engineering, computer science and mathematics.

“However, arts courses such as finance, accountancy, law and psychology are included under the free tertiary education initiative,” he said, adding that the state still needs graduates in these subjects.

He said that other arts courses may be considered in stages in future.

He added students taking up mass communication course will not be offered free education, quipping that “there are too many reporters around”.

He said he will release the details of all the courses that come under the free tertiary education initiative in November this year.

In the meantime, he said he wants the students to study hard to enable to achieve good results in their SPM and STPM examinations that will entitle them to free tertiary education.

Sagah dismissed suggestions that rural students would be in a disadvantage position compared to their urban counterparts in their pursuits to take up science courses at the stated-owned institutions.

He said there is no study being carried out to say that the rural students are in a disadvantage position due to the rural environment.

“I believe that the rural students are as good in science subjects as their urban counterparts,” he added.

The five institutions are Swinburne University of Technology (Kuching campus), Curtin University of Technology (Miri campus), University Technology Sarawak in Sibu, I-CATS University College and Centre of Technology Excellence Sarawak.

On the STEM Catalysts for rural schools, he said his ministry has worked with Swinburne University of Technology, University of Technology Sarawak and Curtin  University to upskill the teachers to teach coding using the Raspberry Pi to the pupils since 2022.

He added coding is an essential skill, especially now with the advent of artificial intelligence or AI, saying that the future talents must master coding skills to fully harness the potential of AI.

“Studies have conclusively shown that coding trains the mind to solve problems systematically, logically and creatively.

“These are vital skills, no matter which path or career our students choose in their future,” he said.

He said his ministry has experimented with Catalysts in 2024 with schools in Kota Samarahan, Serian and Sri Aman, adding that it was a great success.

“We reached out to over 1,000 pupils in 12 schools. The main feedback we received was schools never seen such deep level of STEM engagement before, at least not at primary school level,” he said.

Sagah said for this year, the teams from his ministry will travel to 18  district education offices to engage with over 6,000 pupils in over 130 primary schools.

“We will start from Lundu in the south, to Kanowit in central Sarawak and on to Baram in the north,” he said.