PUTRAJAYA (Aug 28): The Federal Court on Friday rejected the Registered Trustees of Sabah Action Body Advocating Rights’ (Sabar) request to join the Sarawak state’s legal case over its petroleum rights.
A three-member bench chaired by Datuk Nordin Hassan, however, unanimously ruled that Sabar had no legal interest in Sarawak’s petition.
Nordin, who was flanked by Datuk Ruzima Ghazali and Datuk P Ravinthran, opined that regardless of what happens with Sarawak’s petition, Sabar’s separate legal proceedings concerning Sabah's territorial and petroleum-related laws will remain unaffected.
“The decision or outcome of Sarawak's petition in the case would not affect Sabar's rights in its originating summons or its application to refer constitutional questions to the Federal Court," he said.
Nordin said that Sarawak’s petition entailed a dispute between the Federal and state governments, while Sabar, an NGO, was not a suitable party to intervene.
"The applicant (Sabar) also admitted that they are not representing the state of Sarawak," he said.
Sabar applied to intervene in Sarawak’s case, saying the outcome could affect Sabah’s rights and laws, including: the continued application of the Continental Shelf Act 1966 and Petroleum Mining Act 1966; the validity of the North Borneo (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954 and North Borneo (Definition of Boundaries) Order in Council 1958, which define Sabah’s territory and continental shelf; and the continued operation of Sabah’s Mining Ordinance 1960 for onshore and offshore areas after June 19, 2012.
The Sarawak government’s case against the federal government claims the federal laws infringe upon and restrict Sarawak's rights over its natural resources, particularly oil and gas, located in the seabed of the Continental Shelf.
The sovereign rights to petroleum resources within Sarawak's boundaries “were vested on Malaysia Day by the British government in Sarawak and not in the Federation or federal government”, as provided for under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and its annexed instruments, the state government said.
The Sarawak state also pointed to Item 2(c) of the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which vests legislative authority in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly to regulate the exercise of such petroleum rights through mining leases, certificates and prospecting licences.
According to the state government, both the Continental Shelf Act and the Petroleum Mining Act were originally applicable only to the states of Malaya, and were extended to Sarawak during the post-1969 emergency period.
The emergency was annulled in December 2011, and the state maintains that the two laws should “no longer apply to Sarawak” by June 2012 under Article 150(7) of the Federal Constitution.
Sarawak’s appeal follows Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (PETRONAS) appeal at the Federal Court to obtain a judicial determination on the legal position of its petroleum operations in Sarawak, amid uncertainty arising from conflicting federal and state laws.
The national oil company wants the apex court to make a determination on its challenge on the inconsistency between the federal government’s Petroleum Development Act 1974 and the state’s Sarawak Distribution Gas Ordinance 2016, among others.