KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has congratulated the Sarawak government for signing a commercial agreement with Petronas, saying Sabah will also make efforts to sign a similar deal with the national oil company.
“Kudos also to the Sarawak government for reclaiming their rights. It is no secret that the Sarawak government had been doing all the heavy lifting in this fight and we are grateful for their efforts.
“As for Sabah, the state government will pursue the matter and make the necessary arrangement to ensure Sabah will also sign a similar deal with Petronas as the two Bornean states have the same rights and circumstances,” he said in a statement today.
The agreement, which was signed yesterday, allows the Sarawak government, through the state-owned Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros), to play a bigger role in the oil and gas industry through cooperation with Petronas.
Jeffrey, who is also Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) president, said the agreement shows Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s continued commitment and sincerity in giving Sabah and Sarawak their rights, as stipulated under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Jeffrey added that reaching a deal with Petronas will boost economic development in Sabah and speed up its rural industrialisation, which is lacking compared with that in the peninsula.
Most importantly, he said, such a deal will strengthen ties between the federal and state governments, fulfil outstanding federal commitments and ensure continued support for the Perikatan Nasional government.
Jeffrey also said the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-led state government will not assume the wait-and-see attitude of the previous Warisan government in reclaiming the state’s rights under MA63.
“We will work closely with the Sarawak government in our aim to ensure all the rights under MA63 are fulfilled and correct all the breaches that have been accumulating over the decades.” – Bernama, December 8, 2020
