Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohd Morshidi Abdul Ghani
KUCHING: State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani has received an appointment letter from Petronas to be a member of its board of directors.
Mohd Morshidi told The Borneo Post that the appointment would allow him to sit in the board representing Sarawak. According to Petronas official website, the board presently has 15 members.
“As a board member representing Sarawak, my job is to bring back anything that needs further discussion to the state government,” he said.
Mohd Morshidi received the appointment letter last week and it is now in the process of documentation. “That is just normal requirements where I have to submit some of my documents for them to process,” he said.
In August, the state government publicly expressed its frustration over Petronas employing more Peninsular Malaysians than Sarawakians though its petroleum and liquefied natural gas resources are from Sarawak’s waters. To negotiate for its rights, Sarawak came to the point of freezing the work permits of Petronas workers from Peninsular Malaysia.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem and Petronas then reached a seven-point agreement to amicably resolve the impasse.
The first agreement is for a Sarawakian to be in Petronas’ board of directors, and Mohd Morshidi was identified by Adenan to represent the state.
Secondly, out of 192 available posts then, Adenan wanted the posts to be advertised in local papers and to be filled by Sarawakians.
Thirdly, Petronas is to provide up to 50 places in University Technology Petronas for Sarawakians to do undergraduates courses.
Fourthly, Petronas must intensify technical training as well as enrol more Sarawakians in its training centres nationwide. The fifth agreement is for Petronas to support Sarawak’s petrochemical industries.
Sixth, Petronas and the federal government would consider the state government’s intention to participate in Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) to allow Sarawak to benefit from these contracts.
Lastly, Petronas agreed to increase the number of Sarawakians at the management level from the current 33 per cent to 60 per cent.