The Petronas Issue: The Fear Stems From Using The Word Government and Governance in Tandem

This entry is a commentary on the recent commentary made by the straits times and tengku razaleigh hamzah (commenting on a commentary and adding my own thoughts)

I do not care much who gets appointed to be in the board of Petronas - whether that person is a proxy or too young or is a scholarship defaulter and so on so forth (actually I do care - I hate cronyism - but for the sake of sounding cool, I don’t). If he can do the job well then he deserves to be there (uhuk!).

Heck, if he is a defaulter then don’t give him any pay until he settles the amount. But Ku Li said that Petronas does not bond its scholars therefore money and loyalty is not an issue here.

The issue to me is much wider than that. It is not about Petonas because we know Petronas can make money and is governed well enough even if a new non-executive Independent Director comes in to spoil plans a little – if indeed he can spoil such well oiled machinery that is Petronas (pun intended).

The issue is whether or not the proceeds from this well oiled machinery can be put into better use especially since Malaysia have been surviving corruption and misappropriation mainly because Petronas generates a lot of money for this nation (thanks Petronas!! But no thanks to those who misuse our money).

It is amazing that last year Petronas supported Malaysia with RM74 billion (an increase from previous years) and RM268 billion since its inception and yet Malaysia have not been able to capitalize this with better basic infrastructure and better all-around living standard for all Malaysians.

It is the failure of the government to really make good use of this money that worries me.

On top off that, the states that have provided the oil are known to be the ones behind in terms of living standard. How can, a company that is solely owned by the Malaysia people (as Ku Li put it) not make the Malaysian people better off?

How can the company that is solely owned by the Malaysian people, including people of the state Terengganu, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak not make a better living for these states? The fact that these states are or were once held by opposition parties cannot have gone unnoticed (hmm…?)

It is mind boggling to think that so much money has been put to waste. Had the Government practised better governance, the issue of who is put where would not be an issue at all. It is the fear that the government is interfering with Petronas’ governance that is really gripping the people. Had all of Petronas’ contribution be put into good use since the very beginning everyone would welcome any board inclusion.

Fact is, people fear that not only are the contributions made by Petronas are being “interfered “with, now they are trying to “interfere” with the management of the company which makes it worst. Ku Li is right in saying that the Prime Minister has the prerogative on who he appoints to the board, and I have no qualms about that, but nowadays people fear anything that has the word ‘government’ and ‘governance’ if they are used in tandem.

Petronas has contributed so much to this country that it is scary to think that we could survive if oil in this country has run out. To think that Petronas has contributed so much and yet they are left with only 21% to reinvest for the future is incomprehensible. While other national oil companies reinvest 75% of their profits, Petronas can only invest a little to ensure that there is a future beyond oil sales.

It is a pity for a country so rich in natural resources to have a highly capable and efficient company, but then all are put to waste.