Petronas should give jobs to Sarawakians first instead of Malayans

NGO says opportunities to fill vacancies in Petronas Sarawak should be given to Sarawakians before the firm begins recruiting Peninsular Malaysians.

PETALING JAYA - The Suarah Petroleum Group (SPG), a Sarawakian non-profit organisation, wants Petronas to prioritise Sarawakians in filling vacancies in the oil company’s operations in the state.

According to a Borneo Post Online report, SPG president Hamin Yusuf said the retrenchment of 13 experienced Sarawakian staff in an upstream restructuring exercise, reflected a ‘quick fix’ mentality of Petronas’ management, as they could have been re-skilled.

“Petronas’ policy towards the state seems to reflect a lack of sensitivity and reality to the local job market and employment of locals.

“As recently as two months ago, 85 positions in Malaysia Liquid Natural Gas in Bintulu were filled mostly by Peninsular Malaysians under the pretext of ‘redeployment’”.

Hamin said these positions were mostly entry-level positions or junior managerial positions which could have easily been filled by jobless Sarawakian graduates.

He also pointed out that at present, only 39 per cent of management positions and 46 per cent of middle management positions in Petronas Sarawak operations had been filled by Sarawakians.

“The majority of senior jobs are also filled by non-Sarawakians and the influx of Peninsular Malaysians filling the lower jobs exacerbates the situation for the state,” the report quoted him as saying.

Hamin called on Petronas to take SPG’s concerns seriously by strictly adhering to Sarawak’s work permit policy which prioritises qualified Sarawakians.

He said SPG was intent on assisting the state government obtain economic parity with Peninsular Malaysia.

He hoped Petronas would consider Sarawakians to fill positions in the company’s expanded operations in the state, which have created over 600 new jobs.

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’ activities within the state.

He is also pushing for greater oil royalty for the state. Adenan’s deputy, James Masing, said last month that Borneo companies could take over oil-and-gas production from Petronas.

Masing had said that if Sarawak could control its own oil-and-gas production, it could ensure more job opportunities for Sarawakians.