Latest news with #ex-Umno
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Shahril Hamdan: Petronas job cuts reflect global O&G challenges
KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) move to potentially reduce its headcount by more than 5,000 is aligned with the broader challenges of the oil and gas sector, said former economic advisor to the Prime Minister's Office Shahril Hamdan. In an episode of his podcast 'Keluar Sekejap', Shahril said that, in data from 2015, Petronas generated around RM6 million in revenue per employee and compared that to other national oil companies (NOCs). "Petrobras, roughly 2 to 3 million US dollars per employee. Pertamina, more or less like us—1.5 to 2 million. Shahril, who is also ex-Umno information chief, said that Petronas, and the public, cannot deny that adjustments must be made to remain competitive. He highlighted the vastly different oil and gas landscape of today compared to the 1990s, when the cost structure was different and the technical difficulty of exploration was lower. He added that with easy-to-access oil and gas fields already tapped, companies around the world today are operating under new constraints. "In the United States, for instance, it's the clearest example, where even though many barrels of oil are produced, employment in this sector has decreased," Shahril said. Last Thursday (June 5), Petronas president and group chief executive officer Tengku Tan Sri Muhammad Taufik said the company expects to reduce its head count by "upwards of 5,000" as it right-sizes its workforce amid an evolving and increasingly challenging operating environment. Taufik added that all those affected will be informed by the end of the year. The national oil company will also freeze recruitments until December 2026. Petronas, which has some 52,000 employees globally, first announced in February this year that it was set to begin rightsizing its workforce by mid-2025. It would implement the new structure in phases and ensure the process is carried out in a structured manner.
The Star
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Pact hinges on seat division
KEPALA BATAS: Seat allocations in the upcoming Sabah elections must be properly ironed out if Barisan Nasional, which is an opposition party in the state, is to work with ruling coalition Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS). Though open to the idea, Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Umno has a principle where the party will contest any seat that it had won even if its representative later defected to another party. In the 2020 Sabah elections, several seats originally allotted for Umno-Barisan were manipulated at the last minute, resulting in four seats being contested by ex-Umno members who had jumped to another party, said Ahmad Zahid, who is also Umno president. He said Barisan then had 14 state assemblymen while GRS had 11 but due to defections after the election, GRS and Pakatan formed the state government with 42 assemblymen. 'The seats won by Barisan should rightfully belong to us, as they (the former Umno leaders) defected,' he added. 'The door is neither completely closed nor fully opened, allowing for cooperation between central and state-level parties to prevent the idea of 'Sabah for Sabahans', as we are part of Malaysia.' He said 'asobiah' should not be encouraged, which is an Arabic word referring to narrow tribalism or self-serving communal interests. 'The country has an inclusive approach to foster collaboration among political parties so that the states can work alongside Putrajaya to advance their development,' he said. Barisan is now carefully examining the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that discussions were ongoing on a possible collaboration between Pakatan and GRS. During his May 11 visit to Sabah, Anwar had met Sabah Chief Minister and GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, and talked about the possibility that GRS could still work with Sabah Barisan and Sabah Pakatan. This was after Barisan and Pakatan had announced on May 9 that they had formed a pact to contest the Sabah polls together. GRS consists of eight parties, including Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, Parti Bersatu Sabah, Sabah Progressive Party, Sabah Star, United Sabah National Organisation, Parti Cinta Sabah, Liberal Democratic Party and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah. Sabah Pakatan has four parties – United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation, PKR, DAP and Amanah, while Sabah Barisan includes Umno, MCA, MIC and PBRS.
