Sabah MP drills deep into oil blocks fiasco
By Queville To, Free Malaysia Today
KOTA KINABALU: Tawau MP Chua Soon Bui has called for a White Paper on the controversial ceding of three million acres of Sabah’s oil-rich maritime territory to Brunei.
She said Malaysians were confused and would like to know the truth behind the ceding of the two blocks, in light of the numerous statements made by various government representatives.
The statements, however, failed to answer the many lingering doubts over the move which is estimated to have caused Malaysia to lose about RM320 billion in oil and gas revenue.
“It is not just the loss of valuable oil and gas productions, but it is also the loss of Malaysian territorial waters for transportation, marine life and food resources,” said Chua.
“A White Paper on the matter would be in the interests of all Malaysians, especially to those in Sabah and Labuan.
“It is therefore with sincere intention that I propose to the Prime Minister’s Department to clarify all the doubts and ensure that the rights and interests of the people are always protected,” she added in her adjournment speech in Parliament recently.
Chua noted that the people were questioning the legality of the cessation of the two blocks, especially on whether Sabah’s maritime territory (north of Labuan) had been re-delineated, and whether such a move violated Article 2 of the Malaysian Constitution thus making it unconstitutional and illegal.
She contended that if Malaysia had referred the Sipadan case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and won the case in December 2002, the government could and should have done the same in this case.
“Surely the three million acres of blocks L and M with oil and gas worth RM320 billion is as valuable and beneficial to Malaysia as Sipadan.
“If there was any dispute at all with Brunei, why was the case not referred to the ICJ as Malaysia has the expertise on international law on territorial disputes?” she said.
“Sabahans are surprised that the government went all out for Batu Putih and spent millions to fight for territorial claim, but did not lift a finger to fight for the oil and gas rich blocks,” she added.
Why appoint Murphy Oil?
Chua, who is also a vice-president of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), noted that the controversial issue only become public knowledge on April 22, 2010 when Murphy Oil Corporation announced that it had been informed by Petronas the day before that their sharing contracts had been terminated.
The decision was a result of the execution of the exchange of letters between Malaysia and Brunei on March 3, 2009 indicating that the offshore exploration areas of block L and M were no longer part of Malaysia.
She also questioned how Petronas had become the awarding authority if these blocks were indeed not part of Malaysia in the first place.
