PETALING JAYA: “Don’t insult Sarawak.”
This was the curt message Sarawak Assistant Minister of Housing and PBB Supreme Council member, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah had for the national oil-and-gas company in relation to the issue of hiring non-Sarawakians for vacancies in the state.
Speaking to FMT, Karim said priority for vacancies in Sarawak Petronas should be filled by Sarawakians and not those from outside the state.
He said this was not an absurd call as the vacancies in question were in the Sarawak branch of Petronas.
“If the vacancies are in Peninsular Malaysia, we in Sarawak cannot be bothered with who Petronas hires.
“Until and unless you cannot find an eligible Sarawakian, then you can look elsewhere,” he said, adding this was a practical approach.
Earlier today, it was reported that the Suarah Petroleum Group (SPG), a Sarawakian non-profit organisation had called on Petronas to give priority to locals when filling vacancies in the oil-and-gas company’s operations in the state.
SPG president Hamin Yusuf pointed out that at present, only 39% of management positions and 46% of middle management positions in Petronas’s Sarawak operations were filled by locals.
In recent times, Sarawak has sought to have more control over its own resources, with Chief Minister Adenan Satem previously saying that his state government planned to regulate Petronas’s activities in the state.
Adenan announced he was also pushing for greater oil royalty for the state, while his deputy, James Masing said last month that Borneo companies could take over oil-and-gas production from Petronas.
Masing added that if Sarawak could control its own oil-and-gas production, it could ensure more job opportunities for Sarawakians.
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