Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) is questioning the racial makeup of the board of directors of the newly formed oil and gas company Petroleum Sarawak Berhad or Petros.
The party said there were many highly qualified Iban and Bidayuh holding various prominent positions in Sarawak Shell Berhad, and Petronas, reported the Borneo Post Online.
“The exclusion of Iban or Bidayuh representatives on the Petros’ board of directors is one of many classic examples of lack of political manoeuvring by our Iban and Bidayuh leaders,” it said in the statement yesterday.
“Foreign petroleum organisations have acknowledged the capabilities of the two communities in the industry.”
PBDSB said it was greatly disappointed that none of its prominent members, who have vast experience in the oil and gas industry, sit on Petros’ board of directors.
Yesterday, the Sarawak Chief Minister’s Office announced the appointment of Hamid Bugo as chairman of Petros.
It said the other board members appointed were Mohammad Medan Abdullah, Sharbini Suhaili, Zuraimi Sabki and Heng Hock Cheng.
Hamid is a former state secretary who served with Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd in Bintulu.
Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg announced the formation of Petros, a wholly state-owned company, on Aug 6.
He said then that its board members would comprise Sarawakian professionals within the industry.
He added that there would be no politicians on the board, and that only those with substantial experience in the oil and gas industry would be chosen to serve in it.
Petros is currently searching for a candidate for chief executive officer and other key management positions to enable it to be operational by the first quarter of 2018.
The Chief Minister’s Office said the primary objective of setting up Petros was to enable Sarawak to participate in upstream oil and gas development, particularly in the exploration and extraction of oil and gas within Sarawak’s waters.
The initiative is also in line with Sarawak’s goal to create better job opportunities for local talents and attract Sarawak talents that are currently serving outside the state. - FMT
