KOTA KINABALU, Feb 25 2026:Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has asked the Sabah government and Sabahans to stand firmly behind and support the Sarawak government over a petition filed in the Federal Court to determine the constitutional validity and applicability of three federal laws on Sarawak.
Dr Jeffrey Kitingan: Sabah's legal and constitutional position in relation to PDA74, CSA66 and PMA66 is the same as that of Sarawak.
He said this is because Sabah’s legal position in respect of the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74), Continental Shelf Act 1966 (CSA66) and Petroleum Mining Act 1966 (PMA66) is the same of that of Sarawak.
“For the Sabah government, Sabah’s borders up to the continental shelf must be defended, and Sabah leaders must stop bowing to their political masters across the South China Sea,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He stressed that Sabah's legal and constitutional position in relation to PDA74, CSA66 and PMA66 is the same as that of Sarawak.
“Sabah has an Order in Council of Sabah (Alteration of Boundaries) 1954 similar to Sarawak's which extended Sabah's borders to the continental shelf.
“This extension of the border was adopted in Article 3 of the Federal Constitution as Sabah's borders shortly before Malaysia Day on 16 September 1963,” he stressed.
Jeffrey said that there is no dispute, either legally or morally, that Sabah's oil and gas resources should be duly returned to the people of Sabah.
He explained that the oil resources that Sabah has been denied since 1976 have caused great injustice, saying that it has made Sabah and its people the poorest in the country.
“The lag in the development of basic services such as water, electricity and roads is often mocked on social media as being like on the moon,” he said.
Jeffrey said it is time for the political leaders to exercise Sabah’s rights after their failures, including protesting the Sabah Law Society’s action against the 40 per cent Special Grant of Net Revenue which has now been clearly declared to be payable according to the Constitution by the Kota Kinabalu High Court in October 2025,” he said.
Jeffrey, who is also Tambunan State Legislative Member (SLM), said their failures also included refusing to join in the court action filed by Sabah Law Society on the validity of CSA66 and PMA66, which also affect the petroleum resources located under them.
“The same action must be taken by other Sabah leaders, in order to safeguard the best interests of Sabah for Sabah and its people, not hiding behind rhetorical slogans that prioritise Sabah by only paying lip service after getting positions and privileges, but no concrete action,” he said.
Jeffrey urged the people of Sabah and the leaders of Sabah to stand up and rise together without hesitation to defend the state’s rights in order to build a better and brighter future for all regardless of race, religion or belief, and not serve the interests and positions of individuals.
He noted that Sabah has a high rate of hardcore poverty, widespread unemployment, high illiteracy rates, the highest rate of sick people and outdated development.
Jeffrey said the political leaders and the people zhould be together to fight against injustice and wrongdoing that has prevented Sabah from growing and developing to its true potential and wealth.
“The fight is also not against the Federal Government but against the issues, rights and interests of Sabah under MA63 and the Federal Constitution which were agreed upon by the founding fathers and the independence of Malaysia and Sabah in 1963 but most of which have not yet been fulfilled. There is no basis to fear the Federal Government or leaders,” he said.
Jeffrey said that Sabahans respect the bold and appropriate steps taken by the Sarawak government to seek a ruling from the Federal Court on the constitutional validity and continued application of the PDA74, CSA66 and PMA66 which were passed and came into force in Sabah and Sarawak after the declaration of Emergency in 1969.
“For many years, many Sabahans have questioned the constitutionality and validity of PDA74 which has resulted in the illegal seizure of oil and gas resources from Sabah and Sarawak since 1976, and only returned a meager 5 per cent of the oil and gas produced.
“Instead, the rights to the oil and gas resources were handed over to Petronas without any adequate compensation to Sabah and Sarawak, which is clearly in violation of Article 13 of the Federal Constitution,” he said.
On Feb 23, the state government filed a petition in the Federal Court to determine the constitutional validity and continued applicability of the Petroleum Development Act 1974, Continental Shelf Act 1966 and Petroleum Mining Act 1966 to Sarawak.
Deputy Minister of Law, Malaysia Agreement 1963 and State-Federal Relations Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said these federal Acts adversely affect and deprive the rights of Sarawak to the natural resources, including oil and gas, found in the seabed of the Continental Shelf within the boundaries as extended and defined by the Sarawak (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954 and the Sarawak (Definition of Boundaries) Order in Council 1958.
She said under MA63 and the constitutional instruments annexed thereto, the sovereign rights to the petroleum resources in the seabed within Sarawak's boundaries, were vested on Malaysia Day by the British government, in Sarawak and not in the federation or federal government
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