Make a public apology to Sarawakians, social activist tells Azalina for your careless statement

KUCHING, Feb 2 2026: Social activist Voon Shiak Ni today demanded Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said to make a public apology to Sarawakians for her careless statement claiming that the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) does not contain provision on the ownership of oil and gas found inside Sarawak’s boundary.

Voon Shiak Ni: It is a disappointment for Azalina Othman Said to make a careless statement on MA63
 

She said it is very irresponsible of the law minister who is expected to have the legal knowledge on the matter in discussion to downplay the seriousness of the call by Sarawakians to safeguard their constitutional rights and claims on the natural resources on their land .

“It is a disappointment and shocking for her make a statement that MA63 does not contain any provision concerning the ownership or regulation of oil and gas resources,” Voon said in a statement.

“There should be no dispute on the Sarawak’s oil and gas rights and as a law minister, she should be in the know that the ownership of oil and gas rights can only be interpreted accurately by reading MA63 together with the Sarawak land Code , the Continental Shelf Act 1966 , the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 , the Federal Constitution and other relevant agreements before lashing out that MA63 contains “ nothing “ on oil and gas ownership and regulation which has triggered massive unrest and anger among Sarawakians,” she said.

Voon, who is a lawyer, said the Sarawak Land Code defines land to include seabed and ownership of offshore resources and so do the Continental Shelf Act 1966 ( Revised 1972) which defines the continental shelf in Malaysia as the sea-bed and subsoil adjacent to the coast, beyond territorial waters, extending to a depth of 200 meters.

She said Sarawak, therefore, is entitled to assert their constitutional rights over the natural resources on their adjacent continental shelves.

Voon stressed that Azalina, as the law minister, should be educated enough to know that oil and gas and land are state matters which are given safeguards under the Federal Constitution, the Acts, Ordinances and most particularly for Sarawak and Sabah, are made inseparable from Sarawak and Sabah before the formation of Malaysia.

 

Geophysicists to conduct investigation to identify type of gas that was emitted at the Oya pesta kaul site

OYA, Feb 2 2026: A team of geophysicists from Geoscience Department will conduct an investigation starting tomorrow to identify the type of gas that was emitted from underground at the site of Oya pesta kaul before deciding the next course of action.

Caption: The Oya pesta kaul site is closed to the public as a safety precautionary measure - Photo by Ukas 

Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Fatimah Abdullah said the investigation aims to determine the condition of the subsurface layers before any decision is made on whether development activities in the area can proceed.

“While awaiting the official decision, the area involved is closed to the public as a safety measure,” she was quoted as saying by Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas) today.

She stressed that for the time being, the priority is to ensure that the safety of the public is always maintained, despite the situation affecting business and development activities in the area.

She added public safety continues to be a priority following the discovery of methane gas at the pesta kaul site on Jan 21, with immediate preventive measures implemented by the relevant agencies.

She said that initial action was taken through the cooperation of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), Resident's Office, District Office, police, community leaders and village headmen to avoid any risk to the public.

"Initial action was taken to avoid any risk given that the area involved business activities as well as embankment construction and site development work," she said.

According to her, preliminary investigations found that only one of the four boreholes drilled as part of the project contractor’s soil investigation emitted gas, while the remaining three showed no similar indications.

The Dalat state legislative member (SLM) said that Bomba is also conducting continuous monitoring to identify the type o

Grandmother, grandson killed in early morning fire in Bintulu

BINTULU, Feb 2 2026: A grandmother and her grandson were killed in a fire that destroyed the living quarters of a company’s workers at Jalan Sungai Nyigu, early this morning.

Caption: Firefighters dousing the fire that breaks out at the workers' quarters- Photo by Bomba 

The charred remains of  61-year old Taun anak Nyaring and 15-year old Melbourne anak Jeasy were found among the burnt woods after the fire has been completely doused.

Bintulu Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) station spokesman, in a statement, said their remains have been handed over to the police for further action.

“The station received a call about 1am this morning that a fire had broken out at the workers’ quarters and immediately dispatched two fire engines and 16 firefighters to the scene,” the spokesman said.

He said the operations commander reported that the fire involved a block of two-storey workers’ quarters consisting of 31 doors.

He said the fire completely destroyed the wooden block and four motorcycles.

The two victims were found burnt at 4:20am among the burnt woods.

After the fire was completely extinguished and the situation was safe, the team left for the station.