GPS already explains well on oil and gas issue

suppadmin | March 12, 2025

SUPP Kuching Branch Youth Publicity Secretary, Hilary Lim stated that the official statement made by Deputy Minister of the Sarawak Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, on 22nd February, clearly represents the stance of GPS and SUPP on Sarawak’s oil and gas rights. Sarawak has already begun oil and gas field extraction activities on land and continental shelf since 2020, which will bring significant economic benefits to Sarawak. He urged DAPSY’s Soo Tien Ren and George Lam to stop misleading the public and retract their false accusations against GPS.

Hilary Lim also cited Datuk Sharifah Hasidah’s statement in rebutting DAP’s Violet Yong, clarifying the following points:

The GPS government has always been committed to defending Sarawak’s rights and autonomy, especially regarding our natural resources. Our stance has always been that both federal and state laws must be respected and coexist. While both the Petroleum Development Act 1974 and the Sarawak Gas Distribution Ordinance 2016 (DGO 2016) are in effect, but this does not mean that the Petroleum Development Act 1974 is absolute. Like any law, it is still subject to the Federal Constitution.
According to Item 8(j) of the Federal List of the Federal Constitution, the federal government’s control over petroleum is still subject to 2(c) of the State List, which grants Sarawak the authority over land and its natural resources through prospecting licenses, mining leases and certificates. This fundamental constitutional structure remains unchanged, and the Sarawak government has never stated that the PDA 1974 cancels or overrides Sarawak’s laws or under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Over the past decade, Sarawak has reclaimed significant control over its oil mining rights. Since 2020, Sarawak has fully controlled over onshore oil mining. According to the Sarawak Oil Mining Ordinance, PETROS has obtained mining leases to explore and produce oil in the Adong Kechik West area of Miri, with oil production set to begin in a few months. This will be the first onshore oil production in Sarawak in over 50 years.
Before the establishment of PETROS, Sarawak had no rights or interests in any offshore oil and gas fields. Today, PETROS holds equity in five oil and gas production blocks on the continental shelf, making it the third-largest oil and gas company in Malaysia, with an annual revenue of RM4 billion. PETROS will continue to grow as it participates in the exploration of five offshore blocks and potentially leads the development of the rich gas reserves in the western Sarawak. All these facts indicate that despite the PDA, the Sarawak government is regaining its inalienable rights over its oil and gas resources.
In downstream activities, Sarawak will control the state’s gas distribution through the Gas Distribution Ordinance 2016. The Sarawak government will ensure the sustainable use of our gas resources, as the current trend of exporting 94% of the state’s produced gas is not a sustainable use of depleting resources. We have secured a guaranteed supply of at least 1.2 billion cubic feet (1.2bmmsfd) of gas to support the State Gas Roadmap, which will enable the State to attract more foreign investment, support greater power generation and to propel Sarawak to be the clean energy hub of ASEAN as announced by the Prime Minister.

Finally, Hilary Lim believes that the details of the ongoing negotiations between Sarawak Oil and Petronas on gas are still being finalised, and the final decision will be made by the Prime Minister and the Premier. How to resolve the “grey area” of the coexistence of the Petroleum Development Act 1974, the Sarawak Oil Mining Ordinance 1958, and the Sarawak Gas Distribution Ordinance 2016 will be addressed through negotiations between GPS and the federal government in a win-win manner, based on national unity.

He urged DAP to refrain from using “election rhetoric” to mislead Sarawakians and instead focus on constructive discussions that benefit the people of Sarawak.