After Omar Ong, Syed Hamid rumoured for Petronas Chairman?
If last week saw Omar Ong being appointed on the Board of Director (BOD) of Petronas, the Kuala Lumpur City Centre is a buzzed with rumours that former Minister, Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar will be appointed as Chairman of Petronas.
These two appointments are not expected to go down well with the public and corporate circle. If the two appointments are publicly announced, it could come at an expensive political cost to Najib, whose first 100 days as Prime Minister thus far has not brought in the profound boost hoped by UMNO members.
Since its establishment by Tun Abdul Razak in 1974, Government has always maintained an unwritten rule for Petronas management to be free from any direct or indirect political interference. Petronas have since been professionally run and this has proven to be a successful formula.
Members of the Board of Director of Petronas have been limited to Government officials represented by the civil servants and top executives in Petronas for their professional input on the oil and gas. (See the current line-up here.)
The only exception being Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan, who was invited by the Government to help established Petronas. He was brought in by the then Chairman of Petronas, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for his expertise as an established player in the regional oil and gas trade.
The presence of former Minister, Syed Hamid as Chairman and Omar Ong as member of the Board of Directors will not auger well for Najib's public image.
