‘Shell Malaysia decision shows confidence in state govt’
KUCHING: Shell Malaysia’s decision to move its operations office from Kota Kinabalu to Miri reflects its confidence in Sarawak and the state government, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg
He asserted that this move was made due to the stability of the state government and that the company had instilled its confidence and trust in the government.
“I was approached by (the chief executive officer of) Shell and the company believes in us because our government is good.
“All the operations office will be moved to Miri, bringing in 2,000 staff members from across the nation. Their operations centre will be based in Miri while the rest of their operations will be closed down,” he said when speaking at the Samarahan Division ‘Pemimpin Bersama Rakyat’ event held at the Civic Centre in Kota Samarahan yesterday.
Abang Johari pointed out that the political stability in Sarawak had also attracted foreign investors, particularly Japanese companies.
“People are talking about hydrogen gas as fuel. This thing is entirely new and I never thought that the Japanese are coming here to invest.
“One of the companies is Eneos Nippon Oil, the largest company in Japan. Another one is Sumitomo, coming in to Sarawak to collaborate with us to produce hydrogen gas.
“If our state is chaotic, they will not even come in,” he said.
As such, the chief minister said Sarawak’s revenue is expected to increase with foreign companies coming to invest in the state.
“We know by now that we have added revenue of RM3 billion from Petronas. We pray that in five years’ time, Sarawak’s revenue will increase – with the condition that we have a good government that can think,” he added.
Shell previously announced that it would be trimming its operations in Sabah and moving staff from its Plaza Shell office in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to Miri next year.
The decision to withdraw its operations from Sabah had caused a blow to Sabah’s ambition to be an oil and gas powerhouse.
The withdrawal, though unlikely to upend operations, is crippling from a visual and economic viewpoint.