More questions have been raised on the surrender of Blocks L and M to Brunei during the Abdullah Badawi administration.
Blocks L and M, which were given up to Brunei, are reportedly referred to in Brunei as Blocks J and K or there is some kind of overlap in the Exclusive Economic Zone. Essentially, Brunei appears to have awarded the blocks to Total and Shell prospectors while Malaysia awarded the same or overlapping blocks to Petronas Carigali and Murphy Oil. Both these blocks are located near the huge oil-rich Kikeh discovery.
Block J alone is projected to produce more than 150,000 to 200,000 barrels per day, which could double Brunei’s oil production.
Mahathir claims that Abdullah negotiated with the Sultan of Brunei to get back Limbang – though Limbang was reportedly not mentioned in the letters of exchange – and in return the two blocks were surrendered. “No Petronas representatives were present, only foreign office staff and the foreign affairs adviser to the PM,” writes Mahathir. (Ironically, the Far Eastern Economic Review was sued in 1987 during the Mahathir administration for suggesting that there could be a “possible sale” of Limbang to Brunei.)
He adds in a blog post sarcastically titled ‘Malaysia’s generosity’:
The exchange of letters between Malaysia and Brunei reportedly took place on 16 March 2009 – that is, 18 days before Abdullah stepped down as premier to make way for Najib.
The other big question is, why was Parliament kept in the dark about this whole affair. (Check out the confusion over Limbang which I blogged about in March 2009.) Can you really go and negotiate a territorial disputes without the matter first being debated thoroughly in Parliament? This is what happens when the Executive thinks it is superior to Parliament.
An independent inquiry needs to get to the bottom of this. Abdullah himself has to clarify exactly what the terms of the deal were. Not only that, the following also could shed more light on what happened: Petronas, Wisma Putra, the Brunei embassy and Murphy Oil.
Blocks L and M, which were given up to Brunei, are reportedly referred to in Brunei as Blocks J and K or there is some kind of overlap in the Exclusive Economic Zone. Essentially, Brunei appears to have awarded the blocks to Total and Shell prospectors while Malaysia awarded the same or overlapping blocks to Petronas Carigali and Murphy Oil. Both these blocks are located near the huge oil-rich Kikeh discovery.
Block J alone is projected to produce more than 150,000 to 200,000 barrels per day, which could double Brunei’s oil production.
Mahathir claims that Abdullah negotiated with the Sultan of Brunei to get back Limbang – though Limbang was reportedly not mentioned in the letters of exchange – and in return the two blocks were surrendered. “No Petronas representatives were present, only foreign office staff and the foreign affairs adviser to the PM,” writes Mahathir. (Ironically, the Far Eastern Economic Review was sued in 1987 during the Mahathir administration for suggesting that there could be a “possible sale” of Limbang to Brunei.)
He adds in a blog post sarcastically titled ‘Malaysia’s generosity’:
As we all know Abdullah triumphantly announced that he had settled the Limbang claim with Brunei (here). No mention was made of the two blocks. Brunei disclaimed (here) that they had agreed to give up Limbang. The foreign office and Abdullah did not rebut Brunei’s statement. Now it is made clear that the two blocks are no longer a part of Malaysia.Mahathir alleges Abdullah has caused Malaysia to lose at least US$100 billion dollars (about RM320 billion) of Malaysia’s oil in this agreement. “Can Wisma Putra please explain why it did not stop Abdullah.”
The exchange of letters between Malaysia and Brunei reportedly took place on 16 March 2009 – that is, 18 days before Abdullah stepped down as premier to make way for Najib.
The other big question is, why was Parliament kept in the dark about this whole affair. (Check out the confusion over Limbang which I blogged about in March 2009.) Can you really go and negotiate a territorial disputes without the matter first being debated thoroughly in Parliament? This is what happens when the Executive thinks it is superior to Parliament.
An independent inquiry needs to get to the bottom of this. Abdullah himself has to clarify exactly what the terms of the deal were. Not only that, the following also could shed more light on what happened: Petronas, Wisma Putra, the Brunei embassy and Murphy Oil.
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