Wilfred Yap says Honouring Sarawak’s Rights Should Not Be Framed as a Threat to Malaysia’s Finances

suppadmin | August 7, 2025

Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap has expressed strong disagreement with recent remarks by Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, who suggested that increasing Sarawak’s share of oil and gas revenues could negatively affect Malaysia’s sovereign credit rating and lead to higher national debt interest rates.

Yap described the statement as misleading and unfair, warning that it risks turning Sarawak into a scapegoat for deeper inefficiencies at the federal level.

“Sarawak’s demands are not arbitrary. They are based on legal and constitutional provisions, including the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), the Inter-Governmental Committee Report 1962, and the Federal Constitution, all of which recognise Sarawak’s autonomy over land and natural resources,” he said.

Highlighting the historical imbalance in revenue distribution, Yap pointed out that from 1976 to 2020, Petronas contributed more than RM1.2 trillion to the federal government, while Sarawak received only a five percent royalty despite being a major oil and gas producer.

“To suggest that correcting this imbalance could threaten Malaysia’s finances ignores the real issue of the federal government’s over-reliance on Petronas and lack of a long-term strategy for national productivity,” he said.

Yap added that Malaysia’s economic future should not depend on one company, one region, or one commodity, but instead on structural reforms that improve tax efficiency, curb leakages, and grow high-value sectors across all states.

He also defended Sarawak’s regulatory authority over its own resources through state laws such as the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 and the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016, and stressed that Petros, Sarawak’s state-owned oil and gas entity, operates within the law and with transparency.

Yap said that giving Sarawak the fiscal space to develop would benefit Malaysia as a whole by strengthening internal growth, uplifting rural communities, and contributing to the national economy.

“The GPS-led Sarawak government does not seek confrontation but actually, only justice under the Constitution and MA63. It is unjust for Sarawak to be asked to accept less in the name of ‘national interest’ when that interest is shaped by poor federal planning,” he said.

He called for a shift in Putrajaya’s budget philosophy toward one that empowers all states, particularly resource-rich ones, and moves away from centralised dependency.

“Malaysia must learn to stand on its own two feet and not lean unfairly on Sarawak’s oil and gas,” he stated.