The former senator said members of both the federal and Sarawak governments, and politicians aligned to them, should cast aside their frustrations to allow for a quick and fair resolution of the current dispute.
“Negotiations are built on mutual respect and good faith. Extreme voices and actions are not useful and not welcome because it could derail a win-win outcome for Malaysia and Sarawak,” Jaziri told FMT.
“When both parties agree to come to the table, it is with the understanding that dialogue—not unilateral actions—will be the path forward.
“But when one side chooses to act independently before a final settlement is reached, this erodes trust and makes it difficult, if not impossible, to reach a win-win solution.”
On March 8, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said Petronas and Petros were negotiating a commercial arrangement, which included agreeing on how the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA) and Sarawak’s Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016 (DGO) could be interpreted harmoniously.
This came after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg agreed that the PDA would remain the overarching law governing oil and gas resources.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat on Feb 17, Anwar also said that Petros would be allowed to perform its role as Sarawak’s gas aggregator under the DGO which “must be read together” with the PDA.
However, on March 12, a source claimed that the Sarawak government was insisting that all domestic gas users comply with the DGO and buy their gas from Petros. He said the move would affect Petronas’s existing domestic and international contracts and run counter to the agreement announced by Anwar.
Jaziri said all parties involved should look at the bigger picture.
“It’s a national issue, so there should be a national interest in all of this,” said Jaziri.
“Looking out for Sarawak’s interests only is not beneficial to Sarawak. Maybe it will work for Sarawak in the short term, but both Petronas and Petros have to work together for long-term economic prosperity in Sarawak.
“When investors view Malaysia favourably, Sarawak will also benefit. But if Malaysia loses— say, by going down in lucrativity or investment viability— Sarawak will lose as well.”
He also said Petros does not yet have sufficient talent and capacity to run Sarawak’s oil and gas industry without support from Petronas.
“No one wants a situation where investment in Malaysia will be affected drastically. If we are not careful, we will lose out to neighbouring countries,” he said.
Jaziri acknowledged that asserting Sarawak’s claims against Petronas may look good on record.
“But looks good for whom,” he asked.
“Sarawak has a population of a few million people, compared to 600 million in Asean. We don’t want to be a ‘jaguh kampung’ (village champion), so we must be realistic when doing business.
He acknowledged Sarawak has “the right to more autonomy”.
“But we cannot kill the golden goose straightaway. We have to get the golden goose to lay more golden eggs first, so that everybody gets a fair share and everybody gets support.”