Baru urges S’wak govt to file court cases on constitutionality of PDA74, two laws
KUCHING: The Sarawak government has been asked to file court cases against the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74), Continental Shelf Act 1966 (CSA66), and Territorial Sea Act 2012 (TSA 2012).
Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian said this is necessary to test if these statutes are indeed constitutional.
The Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) secretary-general said the PDA74, CSA66, and TSA 2012 are federal Laws passed by Parliament that were never challenged in any Malaysian court and are therefore are ostensibly valid and operative for all intents and purposes.
“However, there is legal opinion that these laws are in fact unconstitutional, and I am of the opinion that it is incumbent upon the GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) government to take up a case in the High Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Petroleum Development Act 1974, the Continental Shelf Act 1966, and Territorial Sea Act 2012, as the state government alone has the locus standi to do so,” he said in a statement for the 60th Malaysia Day.
“I hope that the state government will do so, in order to return to us what is on and in our lands to us, for the benefit of our people.”
He pointed out that the Borneo states joined Malaya to form a secular Malaysia.
“We watch with unease and unhappiness the rise of extremism and intolerance in West Malaysia. There is an increasingly large group of those who wish to replace our secular constitutional democracy with an Islamic state governed by Syariah law, and they weaponise issues of race, religion, and royalty in their dangerous and divisive political agenda,” he lamented.
“This is exactly the fear expressed by our forefathers during the discussion on the formation of Malaysia. In fact, this was their paramount concern as can be seen in the 18point Agreement, the first point being on religion.”
He stressed that in their wisdom and out of respect for the diverse ethnic population, Sarawak’s forefathers had insisted on not having an official religion for the state.
He called on the Unity Government to continue to take a firm stand to ensure that Malaysia does not end up a “Taliban state”.
According to him, the formation of Malaysia was based on the promise that Sarawak would be brought up to the same ‘developed status’ as Malaya.
“The founding father of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, had this to say about the formation of Malaysia: that one of the principal objectives was to further the economic development of the Borneo Territories so that their standards of living and technical skills might be raised, and a firm basis provided for accelerated economic growth, … so that the gap between a relatively backward state and the advanced would be narrowed and not widened.”
Baru said this did not happen as Sarawak lags Peninsular Malaysia in every aspect, from infrastructure to healthcare to education, to economic opportunities and so on.
Throughout the years, he said Sarawak’s oil and gas revenues have benefitted Peninsular Malaysia much more.
Therefore, he called for more annual allocations for Sarawak to narrow the gap of development.
He said constitutional law expert Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi had opined that since Malaysia was formed, Sarawak’s rights on religion, immigration, education, citizenship, financial provisions, judiciary, and the special position of indigenous peoples have been partly overlooked or possibly breached.
“I am heartened that the Borneo states are now demanding that our rights be respected,” he said.
Baru said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Technical Committee chairman, had been tasked to resolve outstanding matters the Borneo states take issue with arising from MA63.
“I want to see all these outstanding issues settled immediately under this Unity Government. The Deputy Prime Minister had said in an interview in July this year that: ‘By respecting and upholding the principles of MA63, we uphold the principles of fairness, equality, and justice, which are fundamental to a harmonious and prosperous Malaysia.’ I fully agree with that statement and I hope that he will be able to deliver to us what is rightfully ours without further delay.”
Most importantly, he said, promises on Borneonisation and non-interference in freedom of religion, for instance the ‘Allah’ issue, must be respected instead of just being given lip service.
He also called for Infrastructure, Education, Health, and part of the Home Ministry’s functions in relation to the issuance of identity cards or the right to citizenship to be devolved fully or partially to Sarawak.
“It would be better if we could also determine the syllabuses taught in our schools instead of following the schools in West Malaysia as their focus is at times not in our interests.
“Much has been said about dilapidated schools, dropping standards, sub-standard textbooks, the lack of teachers and facilities in our schools, especially those in the rural areas, and the creeping in of religious bias into our schools,” he said.
Baru said Sarawak should also take over infrastructure responsibilities from the Ministry of Works in order to prioritise, plan, and design its own connections, rather than making requests to the federal government and letting the ministry decide.
He pointed out the State Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed a motion in 2015 to demand Putrajaya implement rights under the MA63 and mandating the state government to review all federal legislations, including to amend or repeal laws that affect the state’s rights to its natural resources.