Kota Kinabalu: The contentious ceding of two oil blocks, which sit on Sabah waters, by the federal government to Brunei in March 2009 as part of a 'deal' to retain Limbang in Sarawak has cost Sabah RM16 billion in potential oil royalties, according to former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee.
He said the oil blocks L and M sat on three million acres of Sabah's maritime territory and apart from depriving the state of oil royalties based on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's estimates, the Cabinet decision was also unconstitutional.
Yong said ceding a territory from Sabah required the consent of the Sabah state legislative assembly and the conference of rulers. This is stipulated in Article 2 of the Federal Constitution.
"The only one time that such consent under Article 2 was given was on March 8 1984 when the Federal Territory of Labuan Enactment 1984 was passed in the state legislative assembly.
"It was one of the major acts of the then state government that caused its own downfall the following year," he pointed out in a statement issued today.
Yong, who is also President of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), further noted that it was only when Sabah (then North Borneo) together with Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya formed Malaysia in 1963, that the Malaysia territorial map was enlarged to include the Borneo states and their territories. The formation came with historical right.
This territory, he said, included Sipadan and Ligitan islands and the seas now known as Block L and M in the Petronas offshore plans.
Yong was commenting on Mahathir's recent disclosure and comment that Malaysia's right to Block L and M is based on historical right and that the loss of these blocks has made Malaysia lose RM 320 billion in oil in an area the was the size of the states of Perlis, Penang, Malacca and Selangor combined.
Continue reading Oil blocks deal: Huge financial loss for Sabah
He said the oil blocks L and M sat on three million acres of Sabah's maritime territory and apart from depriving the state of oil royalties based on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's estimates, the Cabinet decision was also unconstitutional.
Yong said ceding a territory from Sabah required the consent of the Sabah state legislative assembly and the conference of rulers. This is stipulated in Article 2 of the Federal Constitution.
"The only one time that such consent under Article 2 was given was on March 8 1984 when the Federal Territory of Labuan Enactment 1984 was passed in the state legislative assembly.
"It was one of the major acts of the then state government that caused its own downfall the following year," he pointed out in a statement issued today.
Yong, who is also President of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), further noted that it was only when Sabah (then North Borneo) together with Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya formed Malaysia in 1963, that the Malaysia territorial map was enlarged to include the Borneo states and their territories. The formation came with historical right.
This territory, he said, included Sipadan and Ligitan islands and the seas now known as Block L and M in the Petronas offshore plans.
Yong was commenting on Mahathir's recent disclosure and comment that Malaysia's right to Block L and M is based on historical right and that the loss of these blocks has made Malaysia lose RM 320 billion in oil in an area the was the size of the states of Perlis, Penang, Malacca and Selangor combined.
Continue reading Oil blocks deal: Huge financial loss for Sabah
