Don T Rewrite History About Petroleum Law Says Zaid

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Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim disputed the views of former Sarawak attorney-general JC Fong about how the Petroleum Development Act came about in 1974.
PETALING JAYA: Former Sarawak attorney-general JC Fong has been urged not to “rewrite history” by claiming that Sarawak was never consulted on the passing of the Petroleum Development Act 1974.
Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim told FMT: “The statement that Sarawak did not know of the PDA is baseless” as Sarawak’s chief minister then, Abdul Rahman Yakub, was heavily involved.
Zaid said Fong’s comment was a serious allegation. “How could something as serious as this only see the light of day now after five decades?” Zaid said.
Fong was quoted by Dayak Daily yesterday as saying that the law had been drafted in secret by then finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and his associates, on the instructions of then prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein to complete it in time for the 1974 general election.
Fong said “Sarawak was presented with a fait accompli and had to sign an agreement to accept 5% cash payment for vesting all its petroleum resources in Petronas.”
However, Zaid said there was no reason for Tengku Razaleigh to lie about the matter, and urged Fong: “In the spirit of unity and good faith in our deliberations, don’t try to rewrite history.”
Tengku Razaleigh had previously said in an FMT interview that Rahman had “led the charge” on the drafting of the PDA, which provided Petronas with the right to exploit oil and gas reserves throughout Malaysia, although exploitation of mineral rights had been reserved to the states.
Sarawak has asserted that its mineral rights are governed by the Sarawak Oil Mining Ordinance of 1958 which predates the PDA.
Last week, the Dewan Rakyat was told Sarawak had accepted that the federal petroleum law, and not state ordinances, governed the operation of Malaysia’s petroleum sector.
Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said had told the House that Sarawak’s agreement was made at a meeting between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and state premier Abang Johari Openg on Jan 7.
Azalina said Petronas accepted the role of the Sarawak oil company Petros as the sole gas aggregator in the state, excluding liquefied natural gas.
However, Fong argued that Azalina was not present at the meeting between Abang Johari and Anwar, making her comments in Parliament hearsay.
“There is no evidence as to whether the premier had agreed that Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) can only distribute 6% of the gas. She was not at the meeting.
“What she said in Parliament is hearsay. She should have had the courtesy to refer to Abang Johari or the premier’s office to determine what he has agreed to,” he said at a forum “Fifty Shades of Federalism” in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. - FMT

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