Dr M, Pak Lah and Petronas: The thing that really matters ...

Three men and a country

Friday 24/8/2018: That Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who succeeded Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Prime Minister in 2003 and Petronas advisor in 2016 [Mahathir sacked ...], would again fall victim to their bitter political adversary was expected, even if totally unfair. And if some people think it's all about sweet revenge, they can't be faulted: the Old Man made sure that the non-renewal notice to Pak Lah with regards to his position at the national oil corporation was served on the coldest platter.

“He is going to be retired because we don’t need an adviser anyway.
“I was adviser for a long time, but of course when I was adviser, I knew a little about the business and so I gave advice.
“But advisors sometimes don’t give advice, so I think we would be wasting money if we just paid as a way to give some money to people,” the prime minister told TMR,

Vintage Mahathir. He wasn't going to allow Pak Lah to step down gracefully when his term ends.

But revenge and rivalry aside, the PM made this important point to the newspaper: there was no need for an advisory role at the national oil firm as the company had been performing well:

Dr Mahathir noted:

“Petronas is actually rated by investors as a very well-run company. That is because the people there are ... well, we don’t see any signs of stealing money and all that.

“They do pay better salaries but overall, their performance is recognised by the market as a company that is well-run. That is why it is the only company in Malaysia which is on the Fortune 500 list.
“We cannot really blame Petronas. Surely, its president and group CEO Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin is there. Who appoints him is not relevant if he performs.” 

I think that is what matters. To know that the national oil corporation has been performing well, no matter who the PM or the advisor was. Certain individuals in this new Pakatan Harapan government have been harping on all kinds of crap - a lot of it mere accusations - about the past in an effort to make the previous government look bad. It's time to give credit where it's due as the Old Man is doing.

And move on, make things even better for all of us, as you've said you could.


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