<figure id="attachment_2719924" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2719924" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2719924" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/55fe538f-voon-lee-shan-presiden-pbk-26324.webp" alt="Voon Lee Shan" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2719924" class="wp-caption-text">Parti Bumi Kenyalang president Voon Lee Shan said Gabungan Parti Sarawak must come up with a contingency plan in the event it loses its case.</figcaption></figure>
PETALING JAYA: A Sarawak party said the state government’s decision to challenge three federal laws in the apex court risks becoming more than a political setback.
Parti Bumi Kenyalang said if Sarawak were to lose the case, the decision would result in a “constitutional lock” which would temporarily prevent the amendment of the Federal Constitution, Borneo Post reported.
PBK president Voon Lee Shan said if the Federal Court were to side with Putrajaya, the status quo would be maintained, with production sharing contracts remaining valid, commercial arrangements continuing uninterrupted, and federal control over Sarawak’s petroleum resources staying intact.
Even if the apex court finds in favour of Sarawak, it would not automatically resolve operational and contractual complexities, as existing agreements and clauses would remain legally binding, he said.
“In both scenarios, Petronas survives, but Sarawak risks constitutional finality,” he was quoted as saying.
Voon, a practising lawyer, also said an adverse ruling would validate federal petroleum ownership, making it harder to reverse than the political and historical grievances Sarawak currently relies on to press its case.
“If Sarawak loses in the Federal Court, the decision will not simply be a political setback, it will become a constitutional lock,” he said.
On Monday, the Sarawak government filed a petition to challenge three federal laws, and stated its intention to oppose a bid by Petronas to seek judicial clarity regarding the legislation governing its operations in the state.
The three laws are the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA), the Continental Shelf Act 1966, and the Petroleum Mining Act 1966.
Deputy minister in the Sarawak premier’s department Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said the federal laws affect Sarawak’s boundaries, which were established before Malaysia Day, as well as the state’s rights to petroleum resources located offshore within those boundaries.
Voon called for Gabungan Parti Sarawak to spell out its contingency plan in the event of a loss, including a legislative roadmap, a fallback strategy, and economic risk assessment before proceeding further with the petition.
He also proposed for the PDA to be repealed to pave the way for a new petroleum framework based on partnership rather than subordination, recognising Sarawak’s ownership rights.

MatchPoint Times

Sarawak risks ‘constitutional lock’ if it loses federal law challenge, says party

Parti Bumi Kenyalang president Voon Lee Shan says a negative ruling will be ‘more than a political setback’.

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