Press Statement
By Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan
Deputy Chief Minister
I welcome the recent and forthright remarks by His Excellency the Governor of Sarawak on the continued encroachment of federal powers into state jurisdictions.
His Excellency’s stand on the Petroleum Development Act 1974 and the Environmental Quality Act 1974 echoes concerns that we in Sabah have long shared under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
But for Sabah, the issue is not limited to oil and the environment. Other federal laws have also stripped us of powers and revenues that are rightfully ours.
These include:
• *The Territorial Sea Act 2012* which arbitrarily reduced Sabah’s maritime boundary to three nautical miles, costing us control of offshore resources.
• *The Fisheries Act 1985* which centralised marine licensing under Putrajaya, weakening our authority over our own coastal livelihoods.
Although some licensing powers have been “devolved” in recent years, this is meaningless in practice.
Devolution leaves Sabah tied to federal law and dependent on federal goodwill. What Sabah needs is not piecemeal devolution but full restoration of our power to legislate, regulate and collect revenue from our seas.
• *The Electricity Supply Act 1990* which removed Sabah’s sovereignty over our own power supply, leaving us dependent on federal agencies and outside decisions.
These are not the only laws that have eaten into Sabah’s autonomy.
There are others that must be identified and challenged, which is why a proper legal and constitutional study must be undertaken to expose the full extent of these intrusions.
These incursions have left Sabah poorer, weaker and more dependent, in direct contradiction to the promises made under MA63.
I therefore call for:
1. An immediate joint Sabah–Sarawak review of all federal laws that violate the constitutional division of powers.
2. Restoration of full revenue entitlement, including the 40% net revenue due to Sabah.
3. Binding parliamentary safeguards to prevent any further federal encroachment.
I honour His Excellency’s statesmanship, but I will not merely echo.
As a son of Sabah, I insist that our rights are enforced, our sovereignty respected and our future secured.
Our rights are not a favour from Putrajaya.
They are obligations already signed, already promised and long overdue.
