Salient points highlighted inJulaihi’s winding up speech

SIBU: Several prominent news carried by the national media have portrayed a negative image of Sarawak’s stand on appointing its own petroleum company, PETROS, as the sole aggregator of gas for gas extracted from the Sarawak territory.
Pointing out this, Senator Robert Lau Hui Yew stated that the latest was by the former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim who used the words “blackmail” and “threats” to describe Sarawak’s action.
“Sarawak’s Minister of Utility and Telecommunication, Datuk Seri Julaihi Narawi, made his response during his winding up speech at the Sarawak Assembly sitting on Nov 18. He made a very forceful and fact based reply.
“It is unfortunate that Sarawak voice was not heard throughout the country as the speech was not covered in the national press, ” Lau said in a press statement issued here today (Nov 21).
Lau said it was worth highlighting some of the salient facts Julaihi had highlighted.
These included the fact that Sarawak accounted for over 60 per cent of the natural gas produced in Malaysia. Out of this, 94 per cent was used by Petronas to convert to Liquefied natural gas (LNG) and exported.
In his response during his winding speech at the recent Sarawak Assembly sitting , Lau said Julaihi also mentioned that all the gas produced off the shore of Malaya was retained for use in the Malayan states to support industries and sold for power generation by independent power producers at subsidised rates.
In stark contrast, Julaihi also stated that only six per cent of Sarawak natural gas was allocated for local industries and power generation with prices determined by Petronas.
Shockingly, Lau also noted that Julaihi had highlighted that Petronas would tell investors who wished to operate in Sarawak there was no gas available for them.
Lau said Petronas had sold and exported 94 per cent of the gas, leaving very little behind for local industries to develop.
Julaihi also highlighted that since 1974, with the enforcement of Petroleum Development Act, the cumulative value of petroleum produced and obtained in Sarawak by Petronas and the federal government until 2014 was RM1 trillion.
According to Lau, Petronas and the federal government had enjoyed immense benefits from Sarawak’s wealth for 50 years.
“It is inevitable some questions are begging for answers from Petronas and the federal government. How has Petronas spent this money? How much of this flows back to help develop Sarawak, bearing in mind that one of the key promises and inducement for Sarawak to come on board to form Malaysia in 1963 was to have faster pace of development.
“How could the federal government be owing RM1.5 trillion and counting?” he asked.
“For too long, the federal government and Petronas had relied on these resources from Sarawak. It is time for Petronas to come to term with reality and accept that Sarawak has the right over its gas resources and to comply with Sarawak law.
“Morally too, the country owes it to Sarawak after having benefitted RM1 trillion. A thank you is due rather than casting negative aspersion on Sarawak,” Lau added.