KOTA KINABALU - The Sabah government wants more young people in the oil and gas industry in line with efforts to develop the industry in the state, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said Sabah had recorded a historic achievement through the establishment of SMJ Sdn Bhd, which is a fully state-owned oil and gas company, following the signing of the Commercial Cooperation Agreement (CCA) with Petronas last year.
"We greatly appreciate the cooperation by Petronas, through CCA, marking the first step in ensuring the people of Sabah benefit from the state’s resources.
"This means greater involvement for Sabah in the upstream petroleum business; intermediate and downstream oil and gas business, and with Petronas, increase Sabah's participation in the oil and gas industry and its value chain.
"I share the desire to see Sabah's oil, gas and energy resources contribute to the state’s development. Together with its people, Sabah has fought for a fair solution to benefit from its oil and gas resources," he said.
Hajiji said this when opening the 10th TAS Institute of Oil & Gas graduation ceremony at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park here today.
A total of 90 students graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) in Engineering Operations.
Meanwhile, Hajiji said he hoped to see the training centre r, which is now entering its 14th year, to play a role in producing trained and efficient technical workforce in order to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry.
He said Sabah is in dire need of human capital with knowledge and high skills, including in oil and gas, to continue to drive the state’s development to greater heights.
"This commitment is also in line with the focus of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-Barisan Nasional government on key sectors in the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) plan to drive the recovery of the state’s economic growth," he said. - BERNAMA