Tuesday June 17, 2008

Petronas chief: Report is public

By WONG SAI WAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas has been publishing its annual report for the past 18 years and it is easily available, including on its website, said its president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican.

“We print 5,000 copies of the report every year even though we are legally required to publish only two. We distribute the report to the Parliament library, ministries and even the media,” he said in an interview.

Replying to queries by various quarters that the national petroleum corporation’s accounts were not made public, Hassan said yesterday that this was not true and it was just that certain people “refused to look for iteven though it is easily available.”

”If they cannot find one of the 5,000 copies we've printed, then they should have searched our website under the heading 'Investors Relations' in the Corporate webpage.

“The accounts from 2002 to last year are listed there.

“We have got nothing to hide. When I joined the corporation in 1990, I told my then boss the late Tan Sri Azizan (Zainul Abidin) that we have to publish an annual report if we are to be a global petroleum player,” he added.

A copy of the 2007 annual report was made available to The Star last April. The 165-page report has 84 pages dedicated to Petronas’ financial statements.

The report not only states the accounts but also gives five-year financial highlights, review of its business and even its corporate sustainability targets, including its role in protecting the environment.

Hassan said the standard of the report surpassed the requirements of the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

“We behave like a public-listed company in publishing our report. I do not understand why people say that our report is not made public.

“By law all companies are required to submit their accounts to the commission and if they cannot get a copy of our report then they should have extracted a copy from the commission,” he added.

Opposition leaders and several Barisan Nasional backbenchers had called for Petronas’ accounts to be made public.

Some, including Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had claimed that Petronas’ accounts were secret.

The calls were made following the government’s decision to raise the price of petrol by 78 sen to RM2.70 per litre and diesel by RM1 to RM2.58 per litre.