KUCHING: The President of Sarawak Reform Party (STAR) Lina Soo has submitted a letter to the Assistant Minister for Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali at her office here recently during a courtesy call.
In the letter, she urged the Sarawak Government to table in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) at its forthcoming session to reject the Federal Constitution Article 1(2) Amendment A354 Sec 2, the Petroleum Development Act 1974 and Territorial Sea Act 750 as the three Acts had altered the political status and boundary of Sarawak without the consent of the State Legislature in contravention of the Federal Constitution and Malaysia Agreement 1963.
“While the Sarawak Government’s successful defence of the Petronas application to Federal Court is proof of non-acquiescence, the constitutional process enacted by DUN will fortify the bulwark and unassailable shield to protect Sarawak rights and sovereignty,” she said.
In the letter submitted to Hasidah, Soo congratulated the State legal team for the success on setting aside Petronas’ attempt sought before the Federal Court to be declared as absolute regulator over Sarawak’s petroleum resources which undermines the authority and sovereignty of the State.
“It is noted that with the move by Petronas before the Federal Court, the Federal Government may have realised that the PDA 1974 is ambiguous, therefore the necessity for Petronas to bring it before the Federal Court urgently with no recourse to appeal,” she said in the letter.
Soo added that under the ‘SARAWAK INTERNAL SOVEREIGNTY VIS-A-VIS MALAYSIA SOVEREIGNTY UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW (DOMINION AND IMPERIUM)’, the State has dominion over legal ownership, economic and property rights of its oil, gas and other minerals in its Continental Shelf as a Coastal State.
“This internal sovereignty of Sarawak based on State law has always been protected under the Malaysia Agreement, Inter-Governmental Report, customary international law, public international law and its protective municipal laws.
“The Federal Government has sovereignty (imperium) based on international law in the context of political rights, jurisdiction and administrative control over affairs when dealing with other nations. It is the international and constitutional duty of the Federal Government to monitor international relations in terms of safety regulations and environmental compliance, navigation, laying of marine cables, security, pollution, shipping, maintaining rights of innocent passage, preventing illegal fishing, marine structures and maintenance of lighthouses and those stipulated in Federal List I item 8 (j) subject to items 2(a), 2(c) 2(d) of State List II of Sarawak under the Ninth Schedule of FC and the municipal laws of Sarawak.
“But the Federal government does not own Sarawak’s petroleum onshore and offshore, nor possess economic rights, and neither should it exercise compulsory acquisition of oil and gas in the Continental shelf of the Coastal State of Sarawak under State List II items 2(a), 29(c), and, especially 2(d) of the ninth Schedule, Articles 4, 80(3), 959(d), 76(1)(b) and 76(4) of the Federal Constitution.
“Sovereignty and jurisdiction under international law on international boundaries, continental shelf, territorial seas and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the coastal State of Sarawak DO NOT confer ownership, economic and property rights upon the Federal Government.
“Sarawak as a component State of the Federation of Malaysia has special protections and provisions accorded under the MA63 and Federal Constitution, which are not available to the states of the Federation of Malaya formed in 1957 which Sarawak took no part in,” she explained.
The STAR president also touched on the State’s Constitution, Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and Federal Constitution.
She highlighted that Sarawak was never a party to, or signed the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957 (FMA1957) should the agreement be a valid one. However, if FMA1957 was no longer valid, the United Nations will have to review the Federation’s membership status which is based upon FMA1957.
“In 1954, Great Britain defined Sarawak’s boundary to include the continental shelf and that the State’s rights and powers agreed to for the formation of Malaysia are protected and guaranteed under MA63 including the constitutional recognition of Sarawak pre-1963 boundary,” said Soo.
She emphasised that prior to Malaysia Day, the State has been exercising its power over petroleum found within its extended boundaries.
“With its boundary maintained by virtue of Article 1(3) of the Federal Constitution, after Malaysia Day, Sarawak continued to exercise rights over petroleum within its territory, including those found offshore.
“It would be fallacious for the Federal Government to take over the ownership, economic and property rights of Sarawak by shifting the territorial waters and boundary as under the Territorial Sea Act 750,” she added.
Soo reiterated that based on Article 1(3) of the Federal Constitution, the territories of each of the States mentioned in Clause (2) are the territories comprised therein immediately before Malaysia Day.
“Any alteration of boundaries can only be passed with the consent of the State expressed by a law made by the Legislature of the State,” she said in the letter.
She also touched on the alteration of Sarawak from being a Borneo State component to being one of the 13 states of the Malaysian Federation as well as the Petroleum Development Act in 1974, Constitutional Amendment A354 Sec 2 in 1976 and Territorial Sea Act 750 in 2012 being flagrant breaches.
She concluded the letter with the inapplicability of three Federal laws, namely PDA1974, A354 Sec 2 and TSA 750 in Sarawak as they were never passed by the State Legislative Assembly.
Soo urged the State Assembly to move a resolution to reject the three Federal laws and State Members of Parliament to table before the Parliament to restore Sarawak’s status, add proviso to PDA1974 and TSA750.
She added that PDA1974 and TSA750 were blatant breaches of MA63 a multi-lateral international agreement and constitutional document for the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, which began in London.
She also said that directions should be sought from a Queen’s Counsel with competency and specialised
knowledge of Constitutional Law, Public International Law and Federalism, with view to proceed to the British Court for resolution of dispute.
At the meeting, Soo also presented Hasidah with two of her books based upon her research of the British declassified colonial documents at the British National Archives titled, Sarawak The Real Deal and Sarawak Chronicle – Letters, Agreements, Laws and International Treaties.
