Chief Minister: Company targets active participation in oil and gas industry within 2 years
Abang Johari (10th left) and other members, including Awang Tengah (fifth right) and Uggah (ninth left), in a show of strength for PBB.
MIRI: The state’s wholly-owned oil and gas (O&G) company, Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros), is set to become an active player in the O&G industry within two years.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the company, established in August last year, aims to exploit all opportunities in the O&G industry once it is fully operational.
“Wait two years for Petros to take active participation in the oil and gas industry,” he said when opening the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Miri Zone 10 triennial delegates meeting here yesterday.
The setting-up of Petros was to enable the state government to participate directly in the O&G industry in Sarawak.
Petros chairman Tan Sri Hamid Bugo was reported in November last year as saying the company was expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2018, and was looking for a suitable candidate to fill the post of chief executive officer.
Abang Johari, meanwhile, said Sarawak has the potential to become the strongest state in Malaysia by 2030 with a well-structured development plan based on digital economy, and headed by the state’s backbone party, PBB.
Abang Johari, who is PBB president, said the party’s leaders had been able to manage the state’s resources well.
“PBB, as a party that has always been relevant in all eras, has a strong structure which successfully put Sarawak on the right track. From the time of Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to the late Tok Nan (Pehin Sri Adenan Satem) and then me, the party has managed to stabilise politics as well as provide space for the government to develop the state as it is today.
“I can say that today, politics in Sarawak is the best in the country. PBB as a party that is bold and daring to make changes has brought tremendous development and stability to the state,” he said.
About 1,200 people consisting of Supreme Council members, exco members, party members and observers from eight PBB Zone 10 branches, namely Bekenu, Lambir, Piasau, Pujut, Senadin, Marudi, Telang Usan and Mulu, attended the event.
On another matter, the Chief Minister proposed to change the Miri tourism promotion approach by using virtual reality method to attract more tourists.
“The local sector can promote the famous Bario Highlands with Bario rice products as well as the beaches of Bekenu as tourist attractions. In addition, Orang Ulu craft products in Miri can penetrate the international market through virtual stores,” he said.
Earlier, Zone 10 coordinator Datuk Gerawat Gala, who is also State Legislative Assembly deputy speaker, said among the decisions reached during the meeting was to fully support the decision of the party’s Supreme Council (MKT) to retain Abang Johari as PBB president without contest in the upcoming party convention.
“In addition, we fully support the party’s MKT decision for both current deputy presidents of the party to retain their posts without contest and the posts of head of women and youth wings not to be contested in the TGM,” he added.
Gerawat noted that within a year, Abang Johari had succeeded in enacting and implementing new policies to spur economic and high-impact development, including the establishment of Sarawak Pay, Petros, the digital village and many more at the state level.
“We will work hard together with other components of the Barisan Nasional to wrest the Miri parliamentary seat from the opposition,” he said.
Deputy chief ministers Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, PBB secretary-general Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom and PBB permanent chairman Datuk Amar Asfia Awang Nassar, who is also State Legislative Assembly speaker, were among those present.