Lo: Land Code (Amendment) Bill 2022 strengthens state’s rights over space, spectrum

THE Land Code (Amendment) Bill 2022 ensures that the state’s rights to both the air space above Sarawak and the land below the sea are strengthened.

This will also ensure that the air space’s spectrum is used as planned at the statelevel, from setting up of power cables, telecommunications infrastructure and others, Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang pointed out.

“This is the time we should take control of what we own to ensure that parties using our air space pay us for it,” said Lo in his debate speech at the State Legislative Assembly yesterday.

“We also want to take control of the continental shelf for carbon storage so that whoever wants to store anything under the sea, in our depleted gas reservoir and other spaces within our continental shelf, have to get a licence from us.”

As such, the state needs to define its Land Code to benefit the state and strengthen the rights of sovereignty to space above the land and below the sea, he said.

Currently, under federal law, with regards to the column of air space, companies have to apply to the Federal Government for use of Sarawak air space or below the sea. With the amendment of the Land Code, they must seek approval from Sarawak first, he added.

He pointed out that the state’s land code is different from Peninsular Malaysia’s.

“In today’s world, environmental and climate change is an important aspect of life. The objective of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is to reduce Green House Emission (carbon dioxide - Co2). One of the ways is to store the Co2 emitted by injecting into used oil wells.

“This is how we shall use that advantage to benefit Sarawak financially in providing space for users to store carbon credit. We are not talking about satu dua ringgit (one or two dollars). We are talking in the tune of billions of ringgit and the creation of thousands of jobs here.”

The world has recognised that this region has very little seismic activity and is therefore absolutely feasible to store carbon dioxide and other gases, he said.

“Thus, should anyone want such facilities in Sarawak, they need to get our permission to do it. From there, we can monetise Sarawak into carbon fields.”

The Bill was earlier tabled by Deputy Minister in the Premier of Sarawak’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, which was supported by Lo.