Sabah has own ways to claim its rights, says Musa
Published on: Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government has its own ways which have proven to work in claiming its rights from the Federal Government as provided for in the Federal Constitution, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. He said what was important now was the way the State Government had approached the matter all this while which bore fruit, compared to the 'making noise' approach or publicity stunts that might not work. "When we act on something, we don't have to tell the whole world how we do it. We find that it is better to discuss when proposing something," said Musa, who was responding to a question by Datuk Seri Wilfred M. Bumburing (Independent-Tamparuli) during the Sabah Legislative Assembly here, Tuesday.
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Citing an example, Musa said the State managed to obtain 30 per cent equity in on-shore oil exploration in Sabah through its negotiations with the Federal Government and oil companies. "From zero (stake), we now own 30 per cent equity regarding on-shore exploration. This has never happened before. This is what I mean by no need to make noise," he said. Meanwhile, Musa assured that Sabahan employees will be given priority by oil and gas companies.
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He said he had personally brought up the matter with the top leadership of Petronas and Shell who promised they would give priority to local employees."I spoke with the Chairman of Shell (Malaysia) Datuk Iain Lo during the Shell Press Award and I told him you must give priority to Sabahans since most of your explorations are in Sabah waters. He agreed," said Musa.
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But, he said, people must also accept the fact that as commercial entities, oil and gas companies are subject to market forces and would naturally have to make necessary adjustments, including to trim their staff to remain competitive in business."They told me that they must also adjust to situations. But they promised to be fair," he added.He said this in reply to Api-Api State Assemblywoman Christina Liew who had asked if Petronas and Shell Malaysia were retrenching more staff in Sabah.She also expressed concern about reports that Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders had supported a move to freeze all new applications for work permits for non-Sarawakian Petronas staff to work in the State.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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