Bintulu Port's RM1.8 billion handover bought Sarawak the regulator, not the operator

Sarawak paid for Bintulu Port's regulator; the company that runs the wharves stays on, and the concession setting its terms was still unsigned in July.

I Love Sarawak Newsroom

Published 14 Sept 20265 min read

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Sarawak's RM1.8 billion takeover of Bintulu Port bought the port's regulator, not the company that runs it. A cheque handover ceremony in Bintulu on 21 June 2026 marked the port's change from federal to state status, and Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd (BPSB) carries on as operator while a concession agreement with the state side is finalised, Bernama reported from the company's 1 July filing.

Sarawak bought the regulator, not the operator

Transport Minister Anthony Loke set out the scope in the Dewan Rakyat on 4 February 2026. The takeover covers only the regulatory body, the Bintulu Port Authority, he said, while operations stay with the concessionaire, Bintulu Port Holdings (Bernama). The authority receives an annual concession payment from that company, and expansion is the concessionaire's to fund, which Loke gave as the reason the authority needs no federal money.

The handover therefore leaves the port in two layers:

Regulator: the federal authority is dissolved, and the Bintulu Port Authority (Sarawak) is now the state party to the operator's agreements.
Operator: BPSB, wholly owned by Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd, approved in principle by the Sarawak government under Section 12(2) of the Port Authorities Ordinance, 1961 (Bernama).

What the RM1.8 billion covers, and how it is paid

Loke told Parliament in February that the two governments had agreed in principle on RM1.8 billion as the value of Sarawak's acquisition, after several rounds of talks between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the Premier, and that Sarawak meant to pay it in one lump sum. Joint technical, working and special committees were still refining the valuation at that point (Bernama).

On 20 May, Deputy Premier Douglas Uggah Embas said the federal government had agreed to the transfer at that figure. The ceremony followed on 21 June, attended by Anwar, Premier Abang Johari Tun Openg and Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof (Bernama).

The two federal laws that had to go

Bintulu was a federal port by statute, so the change needed Parliament. Two Bills were tabled for first reading on 16 July 2024 (Bernama):

The Declaration of an Area in the Bintulu District to be a Federal Port (Repeal) Bill 2024, repealing the 1979 Act (Act 217) that made the area a federal port.
The Bintulu Port Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2024, repealing the Bintulu Port Authority Act 1981 (Act 243), dissolving the authority and devolving its powers, rights, duties and liabilities to Sarawak (Bernama).

The Dewan Rakyat approved them on 17 July 2024 and the Dewan Negara on 29 July. Deputy Transport Minister Hasbi Habibollah told the Senate the takeover would not cost federal revenue, because the entities running the port would still pay federal taxes, and would not affect its largely local workforce. Clause 4 leaves liabilities to negotiation between the two governments, with written consent (Bernama). Bernama's report of Loke's February 2026 answer dates the dissolution law to 2023, although the Bill was tabled and passed in 2024.

How the operator bridged the gap

Since January 2023 BPSB has run the port under interim agreements with the Ministry of Transport and the federal authority, according to a company filing Bernama reported on 31 December 2024 (Bernama):

First: six months, 1 January to 30 June 2023.
Second: 12 months, 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, then extended by six months to 31 December 2024.
Third: 1 January to 31 December 2025, or until the two 2024 Acts took effect, whichever came first.

On 23 June, Bintulu Port Holdings told Bursa Malaysia that BPSB had signed a three-party agreement with the federal and Sarawak governments on 21 June. It releases the federal government from claims and obligations by Sarawak and BPSB arising from the privatisation agreement dated 31 December 1992. The company said daily operations and BPSB's existing rights and obligations were unaffected (Bernama).

What is still unsettled

At the time of the 1 July filing, BPSB and the Bintulu Port Authority (Sarawak) were to sign heads of agreement while the port operation concession agreement remained unfinished. Until it is executed, BPSB keeps operating the port on terms still to be agreed (Bernama).

The reports cited here do not give the date the two 2024 Acts came into force; in February 2026 Loke said that date had yet to be set (Bernama). Nor do they say what arrangement covered operations after the third interim term ended. In July 2024 Loke had expected the conversion to be complete by early 2025 (Bernama).

Why Bintulu matters to Sarawak

Mustapha Sakmud, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak), called the handover one of the main achievements in implementing the Malaysia Agreement 1963, and described the port as growing beyond its role as the country's liquefied natural gas export hub into an industrial, logistics and green energy centre (Bernama). In May, Abang Johari listed it with Bakun Dam and MASwings among federal assets Sarawak had taken over in the past six years, and said the state plans more such takeovers in line with its Post-COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030 (Bernama). More on the district is on our Bintulu division page.

Sources

VP-BTU (17 Jan 2023, depart from Hong Kong International Airport VHHH/HKG) · Dltl2010 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Picture shows passengers alighting from the plane and walking towards the old Bintulu airport departure/arrival hall (right). Private houses are shown in the background. The Bintulu airport building and private houses were both made of strong Belian wood. · Ho Ah Choon · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

The following is the author's description of the photograph quoted directly from the photograph's Flickr page. "Bintulu Port patrol boats and tug boats at the Marine Berth. Aug 19, 2007. Taken from top of yard RTG, BICT, Bintulu, Sarawak, East Malaysia rwsphoto.blogspot.com " · Richard W Sinyem · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

bintulu port ma63 bintulu port lng

I Love Sarawak Newsroom

Reported and written from primary sources — government releases, department statements and official statistics — by I Love Sarawak's newsroom system, which cites every source it uses. Stories touching race, religion, royalty, the courts, deaths, elections or health are never published without an editor reading them first. Send tips to hello@ilovesarawak.my

Frequently asked questions

Did Sarawak take over the running of Bintulu Port?

No. Transport Minister Anthony Loke told Parliament in February 2026 that the takeover covers only the regulator, the Bintulu Port Authority, and not port operations. Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd, continues to operate the port and has been approved in principle by the Sarawak government as operator under Section 12(2) of the Port Authorities Ordinance, 1961.

How much is Sarawak paying for Bintulu Port?

RM1.8 billion. Loke said in February 2026 that both governments had agreed that value in principle and that Sarawak intended to pay it as a lump sum. Deputy Premier Douglas Uggah Embas said on 20 May that the federal government had agreed to transfer the port at that figure.

Which laws were changed to make Bintulu a state port?

Parliament passed two Bills in July 2024. One repeals the Declaration of an Area in the Bintulu District to be a Federal Port Act 1979 (Act 217). The other repeals the Bintulu Port Authority Act 1981 (Act 243) and dissolves the federal Bintulu Port Authority.

Does the federal government lose revenue from the handover?

Deputy Transport Minister Hasbi Habibollah told the Dewan Negara in July 2024 that it would not, because the entities managing and operating the port would continue to pay federal taxes. He also said the change would not affect the port's workforce.

Is the new concession agreement for Bintulu Port signed?

Not as of Bintulu Port Holdings' filing of 1 July 2026. The company said BPSB and the Bintulu Port Authority (Sarawak) would sign heads of agreement pending the port operation concession agreement, and that BPSB would keep operating the port until that agreement is executed.

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