KUCHING: Satok state assemblyman Datuk Ibrahim Baki asserted that Sarawak is not making unreasonable or baseless claims to the oil and gas resources in the seabed and subsoil of the continental shelf within its territory.
The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) lawmaker said that Sarawak expects all parties involved in the prospecting, exploration, and mining of petroleum both onshore and offshore Sarawak to respect its laws.
Moreover, he said the Federal Constitution confers on Sarawak the right to issue prospecting licences, mining leases, and certificates for the mining of petroleum both onshore and on the continental shelf.
"Whoever operates in Sarawak must comply with all relevant state laws, such as the Oil Mining Ordinance and the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016 (Cap. 72)," he said during the debate on the 2025 State Budget.
He dismissed an assertion by a former law minister that Sarawak's claim over its right to the continental shelf would be adversely affected by the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) ruling in the dispute between Malaysia and Singapore over Batu Puteh. The ICJ decided the case in favour of Singapore.
Ibrahim said that Sarawak's position is very clear: its rights over the continental shelf are not a dispute between two sovereign states and, therefore, the principles of international law cannot apply.
"This issue relating to whether state rights are affected by Malaysia's claim to sovereignty under international law over the continental shelf should be decided based on domestic laws, including the Federal Constitution."
"In any event, Sarawak has never relinquished its rights over the seabed and the subsoils forming the continental shelf," Ibrahim, who is a lawyer by training, said during the debate on the 2025 State Budget.
He said these areas are state land, and the state has even declared a marine park over some of the areas offshore Sarawak.
"The right of the Sarawak government to ensure its laws are complied with should not be questioned by any quarters," he said.
He added that there must not be any encroachment on Sarawak's rights and legislative authorities, which are expressly enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
He said the boundaries of Sarawak were defined under the Sarawak (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954 by the then British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, pursuant to the Colonial Boundaries Act 1895.
He said the boundaries of Sarawak were extended to include the area of the continental shelf, which refers to the seabed and its subsoil beneath the high seas, contiguous to the territorial waters of Sarawak.
Although the limit of the continental shelf was not specifically stated in the Order, what constitutes the continental shelf is clearly described as "the seabed and its subsoil which lies beneath the high seas contiguous to the territorial waters of Sarawak."
Ibrahim said that in 1952, the then Sarawak government issued a mining lease to Sarawak Oilfields Limited (SOL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell.
"After the 1954 Order in Council, a Deed made on 13 May 1956 extended the mining area in the said Mining Lease to cover the continental shelf, giving SOL the right to exploit and mine petroleum lying or being within the area of the continental shelf.
"Therefore, since 1956, Sarawak has exercised rights over the exploitation and mining of petroleum in the area of the continental shelf, which lies within the extended boundaries of Sarawak."
"In 1958, the Sarawak Legislature, then known as the Council Negri, passed the Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO), 1958 (Cap. 85) to regulate oil mining in Sarawak, including the continental shelf."
He added that the Sarawak Land Code 1958 defines "State land" to include the foreshore and bed of the sea within the boundaries of Sarawak, as extended by the Sarawak (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954.