To understand the fight over Sarawak’s gas aggregator role, you have to start with the Fuzhou elite.

These are the same networks that once ran the timber industry in cahoots with the Taib family, making billions while leaving crumbs for ordinary Sarawakians. When the forests were stripped bare, they turned to oil and gas.

Today, they are the invisible hand behind the push to make Petros, Sarawak’s state energy firm, the sole gas aggregator.

This isn’t about fairness or development. It is about power, money, and political succession.

The Fuzhou hand

The Fuzhou community, originally from Fujian province in China, has dominated Sarawak’s economy for decades.

From timber to plantations, they’ve been at the centre of wealth accumulation. Now, with timber resources depleted, they have set their sights on gas.

One of their most powerful figures is JC Fong, Sarawak’s former State Attorney General. A Fuzhou himself, Fong is the legal architect behind the state’s push against Petronas.

He drafted the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016 (DGO) based on the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 (OMO) — laws designed to chip away at Petronas’s powers under the Petroleum Development Act (PDA).

It was Fong who framed Sarawak’s claim that it could regulate oil and gas up to 200 nautical miles offshore — effectively contradicting UNCLOS, which clearly states that the 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) belongs to the sovereign nation, not its constituent states.

By extending Sarawak’s ordinances (DGO and OMO) into waters recognised internationally as Malaysia’s, Fong set the stage for a direct clash between state, federal, and international law.

This legal playbook has guided Sarawak’s moves ever since.

Fuzhou elite backing Awang Tengah?

The Fuzhou elite are also said to be backing Deputy Premier Awang Tengah. Reports of a “silent rivalry” between Awang Tengah and Abang Johari have surfaced, with observers noting how Awang Tengah is quietly building his base within PBB and beyond.

It is no coincidence. The Fuzhou know that Abang Jo cannot stay forever. By backing Awang Tengah, they ensure continuity of influence over Sarawak’s economic strategy — including the aggregator battle.

So make no mistake: this fight is not just about gas. It is about who leads Sarawak next, and who controls the levers of power when Abang Jo eventually steps aside.

The ‘sole’ aggregator problem

The aggregator is not some bureaucratic label. It is the most powerful role in the gas chain and Sarawak wants to be THE SOLE aggregator as can be seen in the first few seconds of this clip:

The aggregator buys gas from upstream producers, then sells it downstream — to industries or exporters. Whoever controls it controls the margins. Originally, Petronas does business in the upstream, act as the aggregator (mid stream) and downstream, end-to-end.

If Petros takes full control as sole aggregator, Petronas can get choked at both ends. Its upstream business could be forced to sell its gas cheap.

Meanwhile, the downstream business may then need to buy back at high prices. This may even affect the commercial viability of the long-term export contracts to countries like Japan and South Korea.

When those margins erode, everything Petronas has built — exploration, pipelines, LNG plants, ships, supply deals — starts to collapse.

Sarawak knows this. Which is why sincerity is absent from its demands.

Undermining PMX

If Abang Jo were sincere, he would at least allow Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to have the final say.

In February, Anwar told Parliament that Petros would be an aggregator, carefully avoiding the word “sole” to make room for more than one aggregator, allowing Petronas to retain some control for the sake of its business viability.

A day later, Sarawak issued its own statement saying that it is THE aggregator, signifying the “sole” function.

Again in May, Anwar did a joint declaration with Abang Jo where he accords Sarawak as an aggregator.

The next day, Sarawak did a press conference “clarifying” in English that it is THE gas aggregator.

This is no coincidence. It is the Fuzhou playbook: the way JC Fong manipulates the decisions repeatedly made by Anwar.

The goal is simple: keep pressure on Putrajaya, undermine federal messaging, and strengthen Sarawak’s bargaining hand.

RM10 billion expectation

Deputy Premier Dr Sim Kui Hian who is also a Fuzhou has openly signalled that Sarawak expects RM10 billion annually from the deal. His words: “Even at this preliminary stage, it could already bring Sarawak RM10 billion in cash.”

RM10 billion is not pocket change. It is one-third of Petronas’s entire dividend to the federal government.

And let’s not forget: Sarawak has already received RM96 billion in royalties, sales tax, and dividends from Petronas up to 2024. Add another RM10 billion annually on top of that and the imbalance becomes staggering.

Where is the sincerity in this? When Petronas is right-sizing, cutting costs, and bracing for volatile oil prices, how can Sarawak press for more, knowing it could bankrupt the company?

Ibrahim Baki and conflicts of interest

Consider also Ibrahim Baki. One day, he sits on the board of Petronas. The next, he becomes Sarawak’s Deputy Minister in charge of Petros.

This is no accident. He now carries insider knowledge of Petronas’s strategy and finances into a position where it can be used against the national oil company. Under the Companies Act 2016 (s.218), directors must not use information or their former position to benefit others or cause detriment to the company — it’s a criminal offence if they do.

Even after leaving, a director’s fiduciary duty of confidentiality continues, and misuse of trade secrets can be restrained in court. In aggravated scenarios, it could even fall under the MACC Act 2009 (abuse of office) or the Official Secrets Act 1972 if classified information is disclosed.

How can Petronas defend itself when the very people who once sat at its boardroom table are now shaping Sarawak’s competing energy ambitions?

The Shell injunction: Another Sarawak’s hidden hand?

Then there is the Shell injunction, which reeks of Sarawak’s fingerprints. Shell’s country chair, Siti Sulaiman, is herself a Sarawakian.

The injunction is nothing short of demonic: Shell should be paying Petronas, which has invested billions and locked into long-term contracts. Instead, Petronas has been denied RM523 million outright and continues to bleed RM80 million every month.

Where is Shell and Sarawak’s sincerity, knowing full well Petronas did all the work? In what world do they think that work done shall not be paid?

Suspiciously, many Petros’s executives are ex-Shell, and Sarawak loves to promote Shell as the “better alternative.” This is sabotage, plain and simple — killing the golden goose.

Petronas already under strain

The timing could not be worse. Petronas is already struggling.

For the first half of 2025:

• Revenue fell 24% to RM132.6 billion.
• Profit after tax dropped 19% to RM26.2 billion.
• Capex was slashed by 31% .

This is not a company with unlimited resources. Yet Sarawak wants to extract even more.

The dangerous politics of tomorrow

Today, Sarawak is led by Abang Jo — and this matters.

As a Malay premier, he may still have sentimental ties to the Malay-led federation in Kuala Lumpur.

But Malays are a minority in Sarawak. His position is not permanent, and his successors may not share the same instinct to keep the federation intact.

What happens if a Fuzhou-dominated cabinet seizes control, backed by the same elites who stripped Sarawak’s forests bare and are now eyeing its oil and gas?

Hand them sole aggregator control, and you hand them financial sovereignty. Petros would dictate prices, starve Petronas of margins, killing the golden goose.

And here’s the irony: Abang Jo knows this. But he is happy to ride the “Sarawak First” (SAS) wave because it benefits him politically.

With state elections looming next year, stoking Sarawakian sentiment against “the bogeyman from Malaya” is the easiest way to rally support.

It’s convenient politics. But it comes at a national cost.

Who really benefits?

Ordinary Sarawakians will not see this wealth. Just as they never saw the timber billions.

The same elites — the Fuzhou, the Taib family, PBB (Abang Jo’s party) insiders — will continue to capture the spoils. They have ruled Sarawak for decades. Why would their behavior change now?

Meanwhile, federal transfers and Petronas dividends have funded schools, hospitals, subsidies, and salaries across Malaysia. Undermine Petronas, and you don’t just hurt Peninsular Malaysia. You hurt Sabah. You hurt Sarawak’s own people too.

The insincerity laid bare

Sarawak’s demand for sole aggregation is not sincerity. It is opportunism. It is the elite using nationalism to mask greed. It is the Fuzhou playbook in full swing: JC Fong’s legal scaffolding, Awang Tengah’s quiet rise, Abang Jo’s political theatre, Dr Sim’s RM10 billion expectation, the demonic Shell injunction and Ibrahim Baki’s insider advantage.

All of these, while Petronas is already struggling with falling profits, shrinking capex, and volatile markets.

So let’s not pretend anymore. This is not about a fairer share. It is about setting the stage for Fuzhou take over of Sarawak.

The question is not whether Sarawak’s leaders are aware of what’s happening — they do. The question is whether they are compromised by the Chinese Fuzhou, and forced to act treasonously against the federation.

A disturbing development running up to Malaysia day.