Petroleum Act review: Discuss first, says Pairin

Posted on May 12, 2011, Thursday in The Borneo Post

PENAMPANG: The call made by the Sabah Oil and Gas Contractors’ Association for the government to review the Petroleum Act 1974 must be discussed first before such a motion is tabled in parliament.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said that it was only sensible that the Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties and its members of parliament get feedback from various interest groups before making a decision on the matter.

The association recently called on Sabah MPs to help push through the matter as the Act has to be amended to enable Petronas to channel project contracts directly to the domestic industry in Sabah and not through main contractors from Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.

“I suppose we’ve to check and discuss before we venture into something, we should invite more people for feedback,” said Pairin, who is also Keningau MP, when asked to comment on the issue.

Pairin said any issue that needs to be tabled in parliament must be discussed among BN component parties or at the federal cabinet level.

The Sabah Oil and Gas Contractors’ Association made the call as local contractors were not getting enough projects from Petronas.

It said opportunities usually went to the main contractors in Peninsular Malaysia or in Sarawak while contractors from Sabah would only be appointed as sub-contractors.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman confirmed on Monday that the national oil corporation had given its assurance that local qualified oil and gas contractors would also be considered for projects in future.

Earlier, Pairin attended the launching of the KDCA Cultural Village, here. — Bernama