KOTA KINABALU: Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star Sabah) president Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan (
pic) said Sabah stands firmly with Sarawak in asserting that rights over land, seabed, subsoil and the continental shelf are constitutional entitlements tied to the formation of Malaysia and not matters open to negotiation.
In a statement issued on Monday, he said Sabah’s consent to form the Federation was premised on those rights, which he described as permanent and not concessions that Parliament could later remove by ordinary legislation.
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He argued that the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and related documents recognise Sabah as an equal partner with ownership over its territory, adding there has never been a public referendum or State Assembly resolution surrendering those rights.
Jeffrey said Sabah exercised control over its oil and gas before the Petroleum Development Act 1974, including setting royalties and signing exploration agreements, and maintained that the federal law neither amended the Constitution nor lawfully transferred ownership.
He warned that decades of reduced royalties and federal control have hurt Sabah’s development, urging closer coordination with Sarawak to defend state rights while stressing that the aim is to preserve the Federation as a partnership of equals.
