KUCHING: Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How is in “denial mode” over the state government’s efforts to obtain not only Sarawak’s right to participate in the oil and gas (O&G) industry but also to further boost the development of the industry, said Tupong assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman.
He was referring to See’s refusal to acknowledge the state government’s efforts through the signing of a commercial settlement agreement between the Sarawak government and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
“The agreement will enable Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) to play a bigger role in the O&G industry through collaboration with Petronas and at the same time, we will be able to open wide employment opportunities in Sarawak.
“It is not that easy for us to take over Petronas’s role. See should understand that such a thing is not as easy as signing an agreement and kick Petronas out because our country has laws. Rome wasn’t built in a day,” he said yesterday.
Fazzrudin who is also the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) deputy Youth chief, took a jab at See who claimed that “time is not on Sarawak’s side” and urged the state government to claim back the state’s constitutional and legal ownership and autonomy of the state’s territory and natural resources.
“If such matter seems like an easy task to do without thinking about the ‘time’ factor, why is it that when See, who was in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government for 22 months, did not implement this especially when such matter was promised in the PH manifesto?
“The state government is taking safe and prudent measures while considering various factors before making decisions in accordance with its ability so that at the end of the day, it is the people of Sarawak who will benefit,” Fazzrudin added.
On Tuesday, See claimed that Sarawak had been shortchanged because Petronas would continue to play its role as the national oil company with full authority and power over the overall regulation and development of the O&G industry in accordance with the country’s laws.
To this, the Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg responded that only time would tell and there was no need to argue with certain quarters who thought otherwise.
“Time will tell whether it is correct or not. We don’t have to argue because we have the rights already,” he told reporters after attending a function in Kuching on Wednesday.
