Chief minister Hajiji Noor said the recent statement made in the Dewan Rakyat was just the view of certain parties and not the position of the state government, news portal Sayang Sabah reported.

He added that the state and federal governments were still having discussions on finding the best solution to maintain Sabah’s rights on oil and gas.

“That is their view, but we in Sabah are still discussing the matter and waiting for it to be realised accordingly,” he told reporters after an event in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.

Hajiji was referring to a parliamentary reply by law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said last Monday that MA63 did not contain any provisions on the ownership or regulation of oil and gas resources.

She added that the management and regulation of the resource are determined by federal laws, specifically the Petroleum Development Act (PDA).

According to Azalina, under the PDA, Petronas was given whole ownership of petroleum in Malaysia, with exclusive rights and privileges to explore and acquire this resource, whether onshore or offshore.

Meanwhile, Sabah state assemblyman Roger Chin said Putrajaya should not take a narrow view on the matter of oil and gas ownership under MA63.

The former Sabah Law Society president said MA63 is not about specifying technical details to regulate different industries but just pertains to the division of power and economic control between the parties involved in the formation of Malaysia.