Emergency 2021 - Anything In Between The Lines Datuk Seri?

 Emergency 2021 - Anything In Between The Lines Datuk Seri?

‘The Emergency declared by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Jan 12 is different from the one proclaimed on May 14, 1969 in that the former had a time frame…..The 1969 Emergency had no “sunset clause” and could continue perpetually while the present one had a time frame and would lapse on Aug 1, said former Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Seri Tuanku Jaafar (Wan Junaidi)…..However, if the Cabinet considered that there is a need for the country to continue with the Emergency, then the Agong, upon the advice of the Prime Minister, will have to proclaim another Emergency under Article 150 (1) of the Federal Constitution again’ …..quote New Sarawak Tribune.

The 1969 Emergency

As a response to the May the 13th 1969 rioting, the 1969 Emergency was proclaimed on the 14th May 1969. The Malaya-driven federal government leaders crafted an Emergency proclamation without inserting a date for ending/uplifting it or as Wan Junaidi puts it, a sunset clause. By doing so they set the stage for the enactment of an Act of Parliament that will allow the federal government to rob Sarawak of her oil & gas resources. That came in the form of the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74). 

That 1969 Emergency was lifted 43 years later, in May 2012 but not before the Malaya-led BN federal government passed another Act of Parliament, the Territorial Sea Act 2012 (TSA2012) that allowed them to continue to rob Sarawak of her resources.

Were Sarawak’s members of parliament aware of the implications of the provisions of the Emergency 1969? The late Tun Abdul Rahman Ya’kub and today’s TYT Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud were members of parliament and both of them were highly trained lawyers and it is illogical to conclude that they were unaware of the implications. Even if they were unaware in 1969, they would have fully understood the ramifications before the PDA74 was enacted in 1974 and indeed the TSA2012. Why did they not oppose lead Sarawak MPs to oppose these 2 legislation?

The 2021 Emergency

The Emergence 2021, proclaimed in Jan 2021 and supposedly for the sole purpose of enabling the government to battle the covid.19 pandemic is scheduled to be uplifted in August in 2021. There was a sunset clause addressed into the proclamation. At the same time, as hinted at by Wan Junaidi, a new Emergency proclamation can be made by the Yang DiPertuan Agung (YDPA) under advice by the prime minister.What can we see with regards to this Emergency 2021? The most obvious is it does not have the slightest positive effect on the pandemic. The last two days i.e on the 13th and 14th July 2021 the nationwide new positive cases breached the 11,000 mark. As for the Delta Variant, the nationwide figure as at 13th July 2021 was 67 cases.

Is this the reason why Wan Junaidi seems to be hinting at possible new Emergency? 

Secondly, the Emergency 2021 became the reason for the prime minister to suspend parliament. Here is it important to remind ourselves that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government is a government without mandate from the rakyat and a government without a good majority. Why is this reminder significant? It is significant because many Malaysian sees this as safeguard against a vote of no confidence against the prime minister. It is also significant because it helps to explain the actions of the GPS government of Sarawak.

The PN government was formed because GPS enabled its formation. Without GPS the PN federal government would not have existed. Without GPS enabling it, PAS would never have been part of the federal government. Is GPS a member of the PN coalition? Formally, the answer is no. What they entered into is something that has been described as Confidence And Supply agreement (CSa). Their part of the agreement is to support PN in parliament and the annual budget in return for concessions favoring Sarawak. This is where the term Commercial Settlement Agreement (CSA) comes into the picture. 

Did Sarawak actually managed to, under the CSA, get fair compensation for the rights lost under the PDA74? Let us take a look at the 3 known compensatory mechanisms : 1. Sole distribution rights for domestic use gas, 2. Sales Tax on O&G products derived from Sarawak and 3. Two on-shore O&G concessions to Petros, the Adong Kecil West in Miri and Engkabang South in Marudi.

Sole Distribution Rights Over Gas

The distribution of gas tanks under the Petros brand was supposed to have started in Jan 2021. So far we have seen nothing yet. Under pressure from financial constraints forced upon Sarawakians by the MCOs, Sarawakians are anxiously waiting for the Petros gas tanks, promised by the GPS government to be cheaper than what they are paying for now.

Sales Tax On O&G Products

We are now into the 2nd half of 2021 but there has been no news that Petronas has paid to Sarawak the sales tax in respect of 2020. 

Two On-Shore Concessions

There is no assurance that these 2 concessions will actually bring in the much needed revenue to Sarawak. There are reports available in the internet that the two areas were prospected earlier by a Japanese O&G company who eventually decided not to proceed to the production phase as their prospecting data shows that production may not be financially viable.

But there was at least one production sharing contracts (PSC) involving Petronas and Shell that expired recently. These PSCs were over fields with proven reserves. Why were these PSCs not given to Petros? Instead these fields were handed over to Petronas Carigali.

How did the Sarawak GPS government allowed the PN federal government, which they had assisted to come to power, to short-change Sarawak? Or were all these merely to cover up one thing: Their addictions to all things Malaya or as some people would describe it - to continue the tradition of being ULUN Malaya.