By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, June 6: There is a change of guard at national Government-Linked Companies (GLC).
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in a statement today, said national oil corporation Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) president and group chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin is appointed as the new Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s (MAB) chairman.
At the same time, Muhyiddin said Petronas’ group chief financial officer and executive vice president Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz has been appointed to replace Wan Zulkiflee or widely known as Wan Zul as the group’s CEO and president.
Muhyiddin said both appointment will take effect on July 1.
“On behalf of the Malaysian government, I would like to extend my appreciation to the contribution and leadership of Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee working for 37 years with Petronas.
“He has successfully maintained Petronas as one of the GLCs which has a stable financial position and good administration.
“Petronas is the sole GLC which has a strong international credit rating and is listed in the Fortune Global 500 list of companies.
“I believe that under his leadership, MAB will be restructured and grow as one of the national carriers which is competitive and well-managed,” he said.
Additionally, Muhyiddin said the oil and gas industry is currently going through a challenging period with volatility in crude oil price and a declining global economy.
Thus, he believed the expertise and experience of Muhammad Taufik with the guidance of Petronas chairman Datuk Ahmad Nizam Salleh will propel the national oil corporation to greater excellence.
Muhyiddin added the current challenging economic environment has caused the federal government to review and strengthen the leadership of a few GLCs in facing the new normal of the corporate world.
He explained the move is to ensure that the government’s policy is being coordinated to fulfil the country’s socio economic objective.
Earlier, there were reports of Wan Zulkliflee looking to step down from Petronas. —DayakDaily
