The Sarawak government should reverse the distribution of the state's oil and gas revenues with the federal government, said Sarawak 4 Sarawakians (S4S) leader Peter John Jaban.

"It is time to reverse the flow with the state giving the federal government 5 percent of the oil revenue and keeping the remaining 95 percent for itself.

"Even Aceh receives 70 percent of the oil revenues from within its own boundaries.

"The state government must now go beyond the political sphere and seriously consider legal redress as an option in this particular matter," said Peter John in a statement yesterday.

Peter John said this was among the measures which Sarawak must undertake in order to assert its rights to full autonomy under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Chief Minister Abang Johari Abang Openg has dispatched a team to London to study documents relating to MA63 with the purpose reclaiming rights that was supposed to have been accorded by agreement.

'Full autonomy or bust'

It is understood that the team, led by Federal-State Relations and Project Monitoring assistant minister Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, arrived in London in mid-July.

It is uncertain what the outcome of the mission was.

Peter John said that although it was probably not necessary to send a team to London to study what was essentially a public document, he said that the trip was a signal to Putrajaya.

He said that after lying dormant for 50 years, the state government has finally decided to act and pursue the terms promised under MA63.

"The visit has served its purpose as a display of Sarawak's strength and as a message to the federal government.

"The state government must consider every weapon in its arsenal to achieve Sarawak's full autonomy as originally negotiated.

"This battle has been forced upon us, but Sarawak is now able to rely on itself to fight back," said the veteran activist.