KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — A Petronas-Petros settlement cannot credibly be described as “win-win” if the commercial consequences for one side are treated as irrelevant, one analyst says.

Samirul Ariff Othman from Global Asia Consulting was responding to Sarawak senator Datuk Ahmad Ibrahim’s statement that commercial considerations involving Petronas cannot override Sarawak’s constitutional rights. Ahmad was rebutting former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who warned that Petronas could lose billions in business if Petros assumes a larger role in Sarawak’s gas sector.

Samirul said the latest argument also had to be read against the framework agreed by the federal and Sarawak governments in May last year.