Sarawak-Petronas oil dispute simplified

Free Malaysia Today

Visionary leadership needed to resolve Sarawak-Petronas oil dispute.  *The footage in this video is sourced from various social media platforms for educational and non-commercial purposes only, with all rights remaining with their respective owners.  Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2024/12/07/visionary-leadership-needed-to-resolve-sarawak-petronas-oil-dispute/  Laporan Lanjut: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2024/12/07/perlu-kepimpinan-berwawasan-selesai-pertikaian-minyak-sarawak-petronas/  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #Sarawak #Petronas #Petros #Dispute #Explained

Transcript

00:00But for heaven's sake, don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

00:10Those were words of warning uttered by Tengku Razali Hamzah, one of the architects of Malaysia's

00:15oil and gas framework.

00:17He was there in 1974, when a win-win federal-state partnership was cemented, built on integrity

00:22and a commitment to the fair distribution of wealth among all Malaysians.

00:29According to Tengku Razali, Sarawak's then-Chief Minister Rahman Yacob played a central role

00:34in negotiating for the establishment of Petronas.

00:37He said Rahman and then-Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussain had acted in good faith, putting

00:42national interests above all else.

00:45He was a man who wanted this body to be created and he's taken into consideration all those

00:52laws that were enacted in the States.

00:56And Petronas was born after that.

00:59The nationalization of oil resources gave Malaysia a fresh start.

01:03It allowed the country to channel oil wealth into building its future, funding public goods

01:07like education, healthcare and infrastructure.

01:12And we could really make use of the oil wealth for the building up of the country.

01:18Let it grow together and let people benefit.

01:22Tun Razak's noble thinking should go back to the people and I agree with him.

01:29But today, Sarawak's aspirations for greater control over oil and gas resources within

01:33its borders may be putting that legacy at risk.

01:38Over the past year, Sarawak has pushed aggressively for Petronas to seal a deal that would transfer

01:43Petronas' multi-billion ringgit aggregator role to the state's own oil company, Petroleum Sarawak Berhad.

01:51The aggregator role is a critical part of the downstream oil and gas supply chain.

01:56Analysts say Petronas' bottom line, which includes an annual profit of up to 20 billion

02:01ringgit from gas production in Sarawak alone, could take a hit if the national oil company

02:06accedes to Petros' demands.

02:09Premier Abang Johari Openg has defended Sarawak's actions, claiming them to be a constitutional right.

02:15He says Sarawak is prepared to take its battle to the courts if challenged.

02:19Sarawak says its actions are justified based on a colonial-era order issued by Queen Elizabeth

02:25II in 1954, which, it claims, extended the state's boundaries.

02:31It also relies on state enactments such as the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 and the Distribution

02:36of Gas Ordinance 2016, and has established Petros, the state's very own oil company,

02:42to assert control over ONG resources within its borders.

02:46However, experts have questioned the legitimacy of those claims.

02:50They argue that the Petroleum Development Act 1974, a federal law which grants Petronas

02:55exclusive ownership of all onshore and offshore petroleum resources, overrides Sarawak's

03:01state laws.

03:02Article 75 of the federal constitution states,

03:05If any state law is inconsistent with the federal law, the federal law shall prevail,

03:10and the state law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

03:15For his part, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has stressed the importance of dialogue to

03:20resolve such differences.

03:21This is a federal system.

03:24We navigate, we negotiate, but we draw the line.

03:30Deputy Prime Minister Fadila Yusof, a Sarawakian, believes both parties can arrive at a mutually

03:36beneficial solution.

03:39What we want to achieve is a win-win for both state and also federal.

03:45But Sarawak's push for full control over its oil and gas distribution raises concerns

03:50about its potential impact on Petronas' role and the national economy.

03:56If Sarawak feels that they've been victimized, why not bring up the issues and talk with

04:01the central government or the Prime Minister who's in charge of Petronas and see where

04:08things have gone wrong and where they have been shortchanged.

04:14And I'm sure they can put it right.

04:18But for heaven's sake, don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

04:24Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin echoed similar sentiments, warning that undermining

04:28Petronas could backfire on Sarawak itself.

04:44Since its inception, Petronas has contributed roughly Rp 1.4 trillion in dividends, taxes

05:02and cash payments to the nation's coffers, funding Malaysia's development and socioeconomic

05:07progress.

05:10Industry experts say Petros lacks Petronas' scale, resources and expertise to make a similar

05:15impact on Sarawak's economy.

05:19Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes compromise is possible provided national

05:24unity is preserved.

05:28They want autonomy in the production of petrol.

05:32They can say perhaps in the production of petrol that can be studied.

05:38The stakes are high.

05:41Weakening Petronas could jeopardize Malaysia's ability to invest in infrastructure and public

05:45services across all states.

05:48Resolving this dispute requires visionary leadership.

05:51Malaysia's golden goose can only continue to enrich all its peoples if our present leaders

05:55display the same spirit of trust, integrity, fairness and unity shown 50 years ago.

06:03So I think we need to ensure that this process of negotiations with trust, understanding

06:09and respect continue.

06:12Danish Fakir Reza, FMT Business.

Category

Transcript

Recommended