Kuching: DAP Sarawak Chairman Chong Chieng Jen has called on the federal and Sarawak governments to engage in constructive discussions over the proposal for Sarawak to acquire a 30% equity stake in Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), emphasising the need to safeguard the long-term interests of the state’s people.
He said that he did not wish to see Petronas and Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) repeatedly taking each other to court, as such disputes would only lead to internal attrition, slow development, and undermine foreign investor confidence in both Malaysia and Sarawak.
Chong pointed out that at present, the Sarawak government can only secure “whatever amount of oil rights and oil revenue it is able to secure.”
He noted that, as one of Malaysia’s largest oil and gas producing regions, Sarawak has received only a 5% royalty annually (as compensation for relinquishing its oil and gas rights), since the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA 1974) tabled by a Sarawak minister was passed in Parliament more than 50 years ago.
“This is clearly unreasonable,” he said.
While full reclamation of oil and gas rights under the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 (OMO 1958), Chong said that under the current situation, where Petronas remains empowered to regulate the nation’s petroleum resources, the likelihood of recovering 100% of those rights is extremely slim unless the PDA 1974 is repealed in Parliament.
Given the practical constraints imposed by the Act, Chong said he had once again proposed in Parliament that the Sarawak government acquire at least a 30% equity stake in Petronas, which could be a viable solution that balances the interests of all parties and avoids a “zero-sum” relationship.
“This would allow Sarawak not only to share in Petronas’ domestic production revenue and dividends but also to benefit from the company’s global assets and profits, while helping to resolve long-standing disputes between the federal and state governments over oil rights,” he said.
Citing a previous report by Malaysiakini, Chong said that if Petronas were valued using Saudi Aramco’s price-to-earnings ratio as a reference, the national oil company could be worth as much as RM1 trillion, meaning that a 30% stake would give Sarawak assets valued at approximately RM300 billion.
“This figure does not include the existing 5% royalty nor the 10% petroleum products sales tax imposed by the Sarawak government.
“Taken together, Sarawak could potentially secure at least 45% of total related revenue, far higher than the current 15%,” he said.
Chong stressed that the proposal – a 30% Petronas equity stake, first suggested by him in parliamentary and state assembly debates last year, aims to compensate Sarawak for the loss of its petroleum resources over the past five decades while ensuring long-term profits and annual dividends from the national oil company.
“If the Sarawak government acquires a 30% stake in Petronas, the state and the company would become a shared economic entity, ending zero-sum confrontations and ensuring Sarawak’s continued share of national oil revenues,” he said.
Chong made the remarks during a visit to the Stutong Wet Market recently, where he promoted The Rocket News and distributed Chinese New Year door stickers and red packet envelopes.
Chong said the public expressed their support for the proposal during his visit, where the public said they had seen him raise the proposal during a recent parliamentary debate, suggesting that Sarawak should obtain at least a 30% equity stake in Petronas.
“They viewed the proposal as a more pragmatic and feasible option within the existing legal framework, and therefore approached me in person to express their support,” he said.
