Negotiate with us sans the blackmail, Zaid tells S’wak assemblyman

FMT:

Negotiate with us sans the

blackmail, Zaid tells S’wak

assemblyman

FMT Reporters

-16 Nov 2024, 08:00 AM

Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim says there are serious legal issues to be resolved which need ‘cool heads and clever arguments’, not ‘idle threats’.

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Zaid Ibrahim (left) has reminded Hamzah Brahim that Peninsular Malaysians are “good people” and want to see their “good relationship” with Sarawak continue.

PETALING JAYA: 

Zaid Ibrahim has expressed shock at a Sarawak assemblyman’s “brutal chastisement” of Petronas for allegedly disrespecting state laws, and his claim that Sarawak may sever its relationship with the unity government over the dispute.

“The assemblyman has spoken in a most startling and provocative way. We, Malaysians, are not accustomed to blackmail. We prefer to negotiate,” the former law minister told FMT.

Responding to a statement by Stakan assemblyman Hamzah Brahim in the Sarawak state legislature on Thursday, Zaid said:

“I am not speaking on either Petronas’s or the unity government’s behalf but simply as a good citizen of the federation.

“I believe there are serious legal and constitutional issues that need to be considered, and two sides to every legal argument,” said Zaid.

“For this, cool heads and clever arguments must prevail, not idle threats.”

Zaid said Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg has been very vocal on the state’s legal position in the matter recently. “Now it is time to listen to ours.”

He also said no one should belittle or forget the contributions made over the last 50 years by Petronas and the federal government to all states in the federation, including Sarawak.

“Lest it be forgotten, we, orang Semenanjung, are good people and want to see our good relationship with Sarawak continue,” he said, calling on all parties to conduct negotiations with the utmost good faith.

When debating Sarawak’s state budget for 2025, Hamzah had reportedly warned Putrajaya not to allow Petronas’s “pride and greed” to “contribute to the potential downfall of the Madani government”.

He said Petronas was dishonouring, belittling and disrespecting Sarawak’s state laws by delaying the finalisation of a gas distribution agreement which would see Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) officially recognised as the state’s sole gas aggregator.

Hamzah also panned unnamed “leaders” for what he perceived to be hypocrisy on their part in publicly proclaiming to respect the Malaysia Agreement 1963 but working behind the scenes to undermine it.

Under the Petroleum Development Act 1974, Petronas has ownership of all oil and gas resources throughout the country, including in Sarawak.

However, the Sarawak government has recently sought greater control over resources within the state through Petros.

In July, Sarawak announced an intention for Petros to take over the buying and selling of gas in the state and set a three-month deadline for Petronas to resolve all distribution issues with the state-owned oil company.

On Oct 31, Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg claimed a deal had been concluded, with Petronas agreeing in principle to Petros serving as the sole gas aggregator for Sarawak.

However, Petronas disputed this, saying discussions were still ongoing.