KUCHING – A committee involving the federal and Sarawak governments will be established to decide whether Bintulu Port’s administration will be handed over to the state government, Deputy Prime Minister II Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said.
Putrajaya has received a letter from the Sarawak government regarding its request to take over the administration of the port, which is located around 626km from here, he said.
He added that a meeting involving the relevant agency will be held to obtain the views of various parties about the port’s status.
“Negotiations will be started as the letter has been just received. We will also discuss with the Finance Ministry to look at the views of the federal government to see if they agree to hand over the administration of the port to Sarawak, in accordance with the provisions in the federal constitution and Inter-Government Committee,” he told reporters after attending tarawih prayers at Darul Ibadah Mosque here last night.
Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg had said in January that Sarawak would speak to Putrajaya on discontinuing Bintulu Port’s status as a federal port.
He said the move would allow it to be managed and developed as a state port, transforming it into a transportation hub in the Asia Pacific region.
In other developments, Fadillah said that the Sabah and Sarawak governments seek for undeveloped federal-government-owned land be returned to their respective state governments.
The deputy prime minister said currently three parcels of land in Sarawak and two in Sabah have been identified as undeveloped.
“During the council meeting chaired by the prime minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim), this (the decision on the lands’ return) will be decided, but I am calling for a technical meeting involving the Sabah and Sarawak governments along with the federal government to study the matter in further detail,” he added. – Bernama, April 8, 2023
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