Trouble at the top
How not to take control of the narrative
THERE is trouble brewing in the C-suite of Petronas and the official narrative is confusing the national oil company-watchers. Yesterday, Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas) announced the appointment of Adif Zulkifli as its chairman effective Monday, replacing Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib in its filing to Bursa. In the very same filing, it said the resignation of Anuar as chairman and director of Petronas Gas is in line with the internal reorganisation of parent company Petronas. But what followed was more confounding: “On Wednesday, the board accepted the resignation of Anuar, executive vice-president (EVP) and chief executive officer (CEO) of upstream business, and the appointment of Adif, EVP and CEO of gas business and new energy business, as chairman and director of Petronas Gas with effect from July 1.” This paragraph has since been amended. One cannot blame an unfamiliar reader to walk away from this paragraph thinking Anuar had quit as EVP of Petronas. The filing could have been better crafted. Yesterday the New Straits Times broke the story of some trouble in the C-suite of Petronas. We headlined the departure of Anuar as a “Shock Departure”. Indeed it would have been, had it been true. But it is a developing story and it appears we may have caught the problem in its early cycle. For this, we stand corrected. As a responsible national newspaper, the NST contacted Petronas for clarification and comments, but none was forthcoming. Neither was there a press statement from Petronas as the NST went to press. There was none yesterday. Let us say it simply: this is a public relations issue and it could have been handled better. We tried reaching Anuar, too, but he, understandably, didn’t take our call. This mishandling has one unfortunate result for Petronas: the rumour mills have taken over. Public Relations 101 will tell us if you do not tell your own story others will tell that story for you. And thus, has Petronas lost control of its own narrative.
Why this interest in the departure of an executive vicepresident? We advance two reasons. One, because it is Petronas — a treasured national asset. You can say it moved from zero in 1974 to hero in very few years. Even Pertamina, from whom Petronas learned a fair bit about crude and contracts, looks up to it. So does the rest of the world.
Two, the position of executive vice-president and CEO of upstream operations is no ordinary one. Much business gets done from this seat in the C-suite of Petronas. The world may not be beating a path to the doors of Petronas as it did before, but the traffic is, happily for Malaysia, still heavy.
Did we break the story of the brewing trouble at the C-suite of Petronas too soon? We do not think so. We had the story days ago, but held back for confirmation with Petronas. Our calls went unanswered. Perhaps Petronas was caught between a rock and a hard place. But then again, as they say, it comes with the territory.
Yesterday, Petronas Gas Bhd announced the appointment of Adif Zulkifli as its chairman effective Monday, replacing Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib.