Both Petronas and the Sarawak government will write to the chief justice to request an enlarged panel of either nine or 11 judges to hear the petitions.

PETALING JAYA: The Federal Court has set Jan 25-29 next year to hear petitions filed by Petronas and the Sarawak government challenging state and federal laws governing oil and gas matters.

Justice Rhodzariah Bujang said the petitions would be heard in the order in which they were filed, Bernama reported.

However, she left it to the Federal Court panel hearing the petitions to decide whether it should first hear the Sarawak government’s preliminary issue concerning the validity of the Sarawak (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954 (OIC), which concerns the boundaries of Sarawak's territorial waters.