KUCHING: Petronas should give back what rightly belongs to Sarawak, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing.
“We have already been exploited for 45 years, therefore enough is enough.
“We will pay Petronas for the cost of building the industry in the state’s territories at a fair price. No more and no less,” he said.
Masing said for Sarawak to own stakes in Petronas makes the state look stupid and the proposer a trickster and conman.
“How can Sarawak buy property and industry which all this while belongs to the state?” he asked Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
Masing, who is also Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president. said of course it is good for Sarawak to have ownership of its oil and gas, but not at a price which Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants.
“Chong is very mobile in his opinion on Sarawak oil and gas; hence his opinion cannot be trusted,” he said.
Last Tuesday, Dr Mahathir was quoted saying that Putrajaya may consider selling stakes in Petronas to provinces where the company’s oil and gas fields are, with an aim to raise funds for debt-laden federal government.
And Chong, who is Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, said both Sabah and Sarawak should take the opportunity to own equities in Petronas.
