Land Code (Amendment) Bill a potential source of revenue for Sarawak — Pang
THE new definition of the term ‘land’ as spelt out in the Land Code (Amendment) Bill 2022 will potentially result in new sources of revenue for the Sarawak government, said Johnny Pang Leong Ming (GPS-Tanjong Batu).
“The amendment may look simple and straight-forward but it will bring about a much more comprehensive coverage of the definition of land so that there will be less litigation,” said Pang when debating the amendment Bill yesterday.
He added the amendment will strengthen the protection of the state’s land rights and its sovereignty.
Pang pointed out it was commendable that the new definition of ‘carbon storage’ and ‘spectrum’ had been added under clause 2(b) of the Bill.
“I can foresee the potential of Sarawak in generating new sources of revenue from carbon storage and the use of spectrum through our airspace.”
He explained that carbon storage was a complex method of capturing carbon dioxide emission and storing them in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, aquifers, coal seams and other spaces deep under the surface of Earth.
“Sarawak being an oil and gas producing region for over a century has many depleted oil and gas reservoirs which can be used for carbon storage.”
“With the passing of the Bill, our Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government can impose charges for the injection of carbon dioxide gases into our onshore or offshore depleted oil and gas reservoirs.’
Pang said international study had indicated that spending on carbon capture storage will quadruple in the next three years internationally and it might result in potential new revenue stream for the state government.
As for the addition of the definition for the word ‘spectrum’ in the Bill, he said it referred to the invisible radio frequencies that wireless signals travel over.
He said radio spectrum is used for a wide range of wireless communication and aviation is a major user of spectrum for communication, navigation and aeronautical surveillance, such as radar.
“The use of spectrum is usually controlled and not free. Spectrum fees are imposed on the operators or users.”
He said all the communication operator companies in the country had to pay their fees for spectrum allocated to them.
“The total cost of a 2x5 megahertz in the 900 MHz band is RM499.72 million while the total cost of 2x5 MHz block in the 1,800 MHz band is RM217.77 million.”
Furthermore, Pang pointed out Sarawak was a conducive place to set up data centres due to its geographical stability of being located outside the ‘Ring of Fire’ and sufficient land to accommodate big data centres.