Petronas, kerajaan Sarawak mahu petisyen O&G didengar asing

The governments of Sarawak and Malaysia seek to have opposing O&G plaintiffs heard separately by the Federal Court. Petronas and Sarawak's government have requested the Federal Court to hear their respective O&G plaintiffs separately, as reported to Federal Court Judge Rhodzariah Bujang during the joint lawsuit proceedings. Petronas' attorney, Cyrus Das, informed the court that Sarawak had decided to separate the two plaintiffs' cases, but added that Sarawak plans to have its case heard first, followed by Petronas'.

Das stated that Petronas filed its petition on January 10th and received validation under Article 4(4) of the Constitution on March 16th, while Sarawak filed its petition on February 23rd. Das explained that Petronas' dispute involves Sarawak's laws, while Sarawak's dispute involves federal laws. Notably, Sarawak's attorney, Adzrul Adzlan, informed reporters that the state government wants the colonial-era order, Perdana Majlis (Boundary Changes) Sarawak 1954, to be decided first, as it is not within the Federal Court's jurisdiction.

The court has set October 1st for managing the cases to determine the hearing order for the plaintiffs and the issues related to Sarawak's initial challenge. The hearing for the plaintiffs is scheduled for early January next year. On March 16th, the Federal Court validated Petronas' application to initiate proceedings to challenge Sarawak's legislative authority to amend certain laws, seeking declarations that certain Sarawak laws are invalid.

Petronas claims Sarawak lacks the authority to amend, alter, modify, or review laws under List 1, List of Federal Matters, and Schedule 9 of the Constitution. Meanwhile, the state government filed a petition against Malaysia and Petronas, requesting the Federal Court to determine the validity of certain federal laws applied in Sarawak, including the Petroleum Development Act 1974, Land Acquisition Act 1966, and Petroleum (Exploration) Act 1966.

During today's proceedings, besides Das, Petronas was represented by Khoo Guan Huat, Azian Abd Aziz, Grace Teoh Wei Shan, Ahmad Faiz Razali, Khoo Yuan Ping, and Alex Ngu, while Sarawak was represented by Attorney General Sarawak Mohd Adzrul Adzlan, Sarawak Attorney Richard Tie Sing Wan, and Felicity Sharmela Thomas. Federal Attorney Ahmad Hanir Hambaly@Arwi and Federal Counsel Imtiyaz Wizni Aufa represented the federal government.