Hassan to snub energy advisor offer

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — Outgoing Petronas chief Tan Sri Hassan Marican is set to snub an offer to become an advisor to the government on energy.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak met Hassan and offered him the position of advisor. Those familiar with the meeting said that Hassan asked for time to consult family and friends but is likely to decline the offer, given that at a still relatively productive age of 57, he is not ready for a sedentary life of an advisor.

Also, his family and supporters have not been impressed with the humiliating manner in which he was treated by the government and the whispering campaign waged against him by several individuals with ties to the administration.

A well-respected figure in the global energy stage, he is said to be mulling several offers from international oil majors.

The saga of whether Hassan’s tenure at the top of Petronas has been the subject of intense speculation with talk that bad blood between him and the Najib administration would prevent his term as CEO from being extended.

This speculation intensified after the Petronas board blocked the appointment of Omar Mustapha, Najib’s advisor, as a director. The board argued that Omar would not be a suitable candidate as he had defaulted on his Petronas scholarship.

But the board’s rejection was viewed dimly by the PM and his officials. Under the law, the Prime Minister of Malaysia has absolute discretion over affairs at the national oil company and the board’s rejection of Omar as a director was interpreted as unlawful.

Omar was appointed to the board after the intervention of Najib. Hassan was blamed for the board’s belligerence and from then it became only a matter of time before the government called time on his career at Petronas.

Yesterday, the PM’s Office announced that Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas will be appointed president and CEO of Petronas from Feb 10, a day after Hassan’s last day at work.

Shamsul is said to be a popular choice among some of Najib’s inner circle. He was the former president and CEO of MISC Bhd and has served in several senior positions in Petronas before his move to MISC.