SUPP’s objection towards amending PDA tantamount to betrayal, says Dr Yii

KUCHING: The objection by Sarawak United People’s Party ( SUPP) towards Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen’s intention to table a motion is Parliament to amend the Petroleum Development Act 1974 is a betrayal to the interest of Sarawakians.

Chong’s special assistant Dr Kelvin Yii, who said this, said the objection not only showed SUPP’s ignorance of the Malaysian legal system, it was tantamount to betraying the interest of the people.

“We are not disputing the fact that based on Sarawak ( Alteration of Boundaries) by the Queen Council in 1954 and the lifting of the Proclamation of Emergency 1969, the Sarawak government is constitutionally entitled to exercise its original rights over the onshore and offshore mining of oil and gas according to our Oil Mining Ordinance 1958.

“But under our legal system, any law passed in Malaysia and duly gazetted to come into force is deemed to be good law until it is repealed, or the Federal Court declares it to be unconstitutional and null and void.

“Thus, the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of an enactment is determined by the federal court of law, not just by mere public declarations,” said Dr Yii through a press statement, in response to SUPP Youth chief Michael Tiang’s comment over the party’s objection towards Chong’s proposal.

He argued that the Territorial Seas Act (TSA) 2012 and Petroleum Development Act ( PDA) 1974 are currently still valid laws and, as affirmed by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, all Sarawak has is full regulatory power and not full ownership.

“If based on their ( SUPP) logic that we already have full ownership since the lifting of the ( Proclamation of) Emergency in 2011, why are we still given a mere five per cent oil royalty?

“It is a simple question, with a simple answer. The fact is that the constitutionality of such laws wasn’t challenged in court or repealed or amended by an act of Parliament, which is what YB Chong Chieng Jen intends to do. It is a proactive step, rather than just playing to the gallery to deceive not just themselves, but also the people of Sarawak,” added Dr Yii.

He said the opposition Pakatan Harapan has the interest of Sarawakians at heart and will not play into the ‘ sandiwara’ (drama) created by the Barisan Nasional ( BN) to paint a misleading perception that Sarawak has full ownership of its oil and gas without proactive steps to challenge in a court of law, or table a motion to amend it in Parliament.

“The amendments that will be tabled will exclude Sarawak from the PDA and TSA and reaffirms our ownership of our resources, rather than just basing it on ambiguous public statements with little accountability. Thus, an objection ( by SUPP) to this motion is an objection to the returning of our rights to Sarawak.

“The BN Sarawak leaders who are jumping on the bandwagon to praise this statement are either ignorant of our laws or making a deliberate choice to mislead the people.

“May I remind them that the ultimate act of betrayal to the interest of the people is BN Sarawak’s act of giving away our rights in the first place, and who now still continues to deliberately deceive the people of Sarawak even after 55 years of mismanagement, bad governance and blatant corruption,” he said.