Abun Sui Anyit and Roderick Wong said Sarawak’s claim over its resources was based on history and the law, including the Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974.

“Hence the narrative that Sarawak is demanding more, which is being used in an attempt to bully Sarawakians, should not arise,” they said in a joint statement today.

Abun and Wong also said an article published by FMT, quoting a former senior Treasury official, was an example of how historical fact and laws related to Sarawak’s rights were being misinterpreted.

They said the negotiations taking place now between the state and federal governments were about returning what rightfully belongs to Sarawak, which had been agreed to by the country’s founding fathers.

They urged the Sarawak government to continue pursuing the rights of Sarawakians enshrined in the Federal Constitution, the MA63, as well as the PDA 1974.

“We hope that certain quarters would not try to push narratives that can mislead Malaysians into believing Sarawakians are demanding more than is owed to them,” they said.

Their statement comes a day after Gabungan Parti Sarawak Senator Robert Lau took issue with the same report, claiming it portrayed the Sarawak government in a negative light.

“It is this kind of news report that keeps getting published which paints a bad picture of the Sarawak government as well as confusion about the issue of O&G in the state,” he said.

On Saturday, Nik Azmi Nik Daud urged Malaysians not to question Petronas’s right to oil and gas resources in Sarawak, amid reports that negotiations between the national oil company and Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) were deadlocked.

Nik Azmi said the validity of the PDA is beyond question, and that federal laws override state laws in situations where the two conflict.

The PDA vests Petronas with ownership and authority over all upstream and downstream oil and gas activities across the country.