166th PETRONAS Induction Programme for Executives (PIPE) – Creating Meaningful Journey

The recently concluded UEFA European Championship 2016 in France have witnessed a number of big surprises. The biggest surprise for me was how Iceland, a tiny European country, with less than 330,000 population without a fully professional league have stunned England. England with a team full of EPL super stars lost 1 – 2 as the Nordics knocked the English out to reach their first ever Quarterfinal berth in the championship. Iceland were simply brave; organised and superb in all aspects on that day. So it tells us that despite being small and ranking far lower than its opponent, Iceland – with their own belief, wielded discipline on the field, overcame a far more superior team.  

2. Another memorable moment to me during the tournament was to see what Ronaldo did after he was stretched out of the field after 25 minutes into the Finals between Portugal and the host, France. Despite playing at their home ground with a much bigger crowd behind them, France could not convert the chances. Portugal survived the onslaught. They persevered. Although in pain, Ronaldo stayed with his teammates, encouraging, motivating and inspiring his team members. He acted like Sir Alex Ferguson on the touchline. So, it teaches us that regardless of our situation, if we choose to proactively act on it, we can be like Ronaldo, out but not out. We can chip in. Rally our team. That is leadership. And playing home ground, does not give us guaranteed success!

3. The message is: nothing is impossible if we dare to dream like what Iceland did. Or, Leicester City in the EPL. Nobody believed in them. Nobody thought they would go through. They played their heart out with sheer passion. More importantly, they played as a team. Team work! Similarly with Portugal. Without their no 1 star and captain, they prevailed – although France had more clear chances to win in normal time. Hence, we will do well to remember these messages as each one of you start your journey with PETRONAS to survive this current predicaments and soldier on towards our Vision.

4. I welcome all of you, the new Executives, into Malaysia’s one and only Fortune 500 Company. My congratulations to all of you for being chosen to join our organisation. To be given the opportunity to showcase your talent and to grow together with the Company. Beyond the Company, to serve our Country.

5. I am very happy to be with you today, at the closing ceremony of PIPE. The 166th batch of PIPE! Wow. From just less than 10 people back in 1974, here we are today, witnessing all 33 of you completing the 166th PIPE. Joining the 50,000 plus others in PETRONAS. I wish to thank PLC for welcoming me to speak here today, particularly CEO Puan Farehana Hanapiah.

6. I am equally happy to see the Top Management of PETRONAS is also engaged with you through PLC. I really hope each one of you have benefited from the engagements with Encik Dzafri Sham Ahmad, Vice President of LNG Assets, Encik Azrul Osman Rani, General Manager of RAPID Commercial, and Puan Junaidah Ibrahim, Head of Human Resources Centralised Services.

7. In today’s session, I’d like to share with you some lessons I have picked up along the 42 years of experiences I have had in both the civil service as well as in the corporate world. These have worked well for me and I believe, they are universal values that can be applied by anybody.

8. Let’s make this session more interactive amongst us today. Please stop me anytime if you want me to clarify on any point along the way. You don’t have to wait for the Q&A session at the end.

9. We are a product of our upbringing. Our roots.

10. I hail from a small kampong called Cherok Paloh. It is truly “Cherok” in every sense of the word. It is located somewhere between Kuantan and Pekan, in Pahang. I feel so blessed and so thankful to the Almighty to be entrusted to be Chief Secretary of the Government, and now as the Chairman of PETRONAS, a Global Fortune 500. Lesson number 1 – it doesn’t matter where we come from, what matters is what we do with our lives. Cristiano Ronaldo was just a boy from a small island of Madeira in Portugal. Look where he is today!

11. Secondly, although it doesn’t matter where we come from, we should never ever forget our roots. We should never forget those who had sacrificed which allowed us to be who we are today. Similarly, you and I must also appreciate the roots of PETRONAS. I shall not dwell too much into the history of PETRONAS as I am sure you have had sessions discussing our history, our Vision, Mission and most importantly our Shared Values. We owe it to our founding fathers who had undertaken visionary thinking, careful planning and flawless execution to raise PETRONAS from a mere domestic regulator to an exemplary and respected global oil and gas company. It was done with a lot of sacrifices, lots of hard work, sweat and tears; yet they were steadfast and resolved in their pursuit of our Vision. As for me, my father passed away when I was six. I shall never forget my late mother who raised me up and gave me the freedom to excel, and though she was from the Kampong she was always there for me. Similarly, our shareholder has given us the freedom since 1974 for us PETRONAS to excel.

12. Therefore it is important, that we realise the amanah on our shoulders for us to do the same for our future generations. For our Nation. This we must never forget. The raison d’être of the establishment of PETRONAS. So, never ever forget our roots. And while we must be proud of our achievements, we must never be arrogant. Of our achievements, it was not ours alone. We are here to serve our customers whether in public service or in the private sector.

13. I found my calling to join the civil service at a very young age simply from observing how my kampong folks was paying their ‘cukai tanah’. Once a year, they had to travel a long way (then) to Pekan where the Land Office was; and since it was so far, they practically had to take a day off from tapping the rubber trees. That translated into no income for that day. To get to Pekan, they had to cycle for a distance, cross the river twice on a boat and ferry and cycle again. Sometimes, they might reach the office when it was about to close. Guess what the person at the Land Office did when they arrived late? He told them to come back the next day. A whole day of travel, with no income for that day and being turned away for them to come back another day! Just imagine that scenario. I wished that public servant would work an extra 10 – 15 minutes to process the payment of the ‘Cukai Tanah’. This is after all a revenue to the government. The tax payer was not asking to be paid! The late Muhammad Ali said it well, “The service you do for others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth”. So this was my raison d’etre. Still is. This is why I will not miss coming here to speak with you all today although it is a Sunday and in the month of Syawal; with my wife Wan Noorlina waiting to go to Raya Open Houses. I refer to this as “Cherok Paloh Phenomenon”.

14. I am sure each one of you can have your own ‘Cherok Paloh’. You may call it by whatever name you wish. It is a concept that bring meaning to what we do. It is something that keeps our passion and desire burning. Something that drives us to improve – ourselves, our family, our Company, our Country! It is when times are tough that you hold onto your ‘Cherok Paloh’. For you to remind yourself why you had chosen this path to be with PETRONAS. It will keep you motivated to overcome whatever challenges that may knock on you. And the truth is, every challenge that come your way is meant to grow you further. So, remember your own ‘Cherok Paloh’.

14. Being a new Executive who just has joined PETRONAS in today’s environment will be challenging. As you are well aware, PETRONAS must survive and continue to grow despite the difficulties we face. The lower for longer, the prolonged oil price hovering between USD 40 to USD 50 per barrel would certainly make it harder for us to meet our own CAPEX and dividend commitments.

15. That is why it is extremely important for all of us to know where we are headed given PETRONAS objective to achieve our R2 by the year 2020 i.e. 20% improvement in PBT margin and successful delivery of our growth strategies. It is incumbent that you assume responsibility especially in the 6 immediate priorities listed under Project CACTUS and inculcating ourselves with the PETRONAS Cultural Beliefs.

16. There are various ways you can contribute to the Project CACTUS and you can start doing so by thinking beyond your own remit; and having the ability to think the outcome of your role, your actions onto others. We must not simply take the silo view but rather of what is good for PETRONAS – the Common Good. We must think big. We must think beyond ourselves, beyond our position or even our unit, section department or the division. Challenge ourselves, what would the CEO or EVP or SVP say or do if she is in our position? What result will be required in the best interest of our organisation, even if it does not represent the best outcome for my unit or department? If everyone in PETRONAS thinks and acts in that way, being the better Executive, the better Manager – can you imagine how much better PETRONAS would be?

17. In my experience, even as a junior officer in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), I liked to think what the Secretary General, Chief Secretary, Minister or the PM would do if he was in my position. Then I started thinking what was best for the country. The mindset of thinking way above our position, in the positive sense, is what differentiate the superior from the ordinary.

18. When I was appointed as Ketua Setiausaha Negara (KSN) I championed the notion that the public servant is meant to serve the country uppermost, not so much to serve the ministry, department or agency they belong to. Hence officials should think and act beyond their turf or ‘silos’.

19. The other important element that can contribute positively towards our R2 goals is innovation. Rather than just do what is asked, try to understand the need and the desired result, of what is asked of us. If it makes sense, then do it. Very often, we will find that existing rules and policies have overstayed their welcome. Status quo may be there because nobody had dared to question it. Therefore, be the trigger to change for the better. As a new Executive, perhaps you may not have the authority to immediately make the changes. But we are equipped with the ability to use logic to argue the case for change, and imagination to propose better ways of doing things. I have always been a strong proponent of “hierarchy of ideas, not hierarchy of positions”. If your idea is better than mine, for the greater good of PETRONAS, we must follow your ideas. I highly encourage that culture.

20. We must also be aware of technological advancements that could easily be a disruptor to our business. Instead of shying away from these potential disruptors, we must creatively and innovatively find ways how we can leverage on these disruptors to our advantage. Take for instance, the latest Pokemon App that has added USD 20 billion to the market value of Japan’s Nintendo within 2 weeks’ of the App’s launch. There are already people discussing how the technology of Augmented Reality (AR) can be applied at workplace or our facilities. Unless we respond to potential disruptors, which may go beyond technological, beyond technical, we could end up like Kodak that kept on at film rolls even after smartphones had arrived. PETRONAS may become irrelevant. We must have various scenarios. We must have the habit of going to the 27th century and bring it to today. We do that as our habit!

21. Nonetheless, we must remain humble and polite even when we have differences of opinions. That is what Professionalism looks to me.

23. Another important value that all of us must have is the sense of urgency. I greatly admire the precision and punctuality of the Germans, the Swiss and the Japanese. When I was posted in Japan as an Assistant Trade Commissioner, I experienced the Japanese work discipline, about punctuality for work and appointments and their service guarantees.

24. Therefore, especially given the current scenario, if we decide to take a laidback pace at our workplace and our lives, we will be left behind. The latest Global Fortune 500 ranking has shown that PETRONAS has dropped from 68th to number 125 and there are other players around who performed better. That is the function of revenue and price, which is beyond our control. But we can control our habits. Every delay on our desk or our inbox, is delaying our Company from reaching its Mission. Its Vision. So act

25. My last of the Ten Commandments and my favourite is – Integrity. As you would realise, it is also one of our four Shared Values – besides Loyalty, Professionalism and Cohesiveness. To me, integrity goes beyond avoiding corrupt behaviours. To me, it is about delivering what is expected of us and more, delivering to the best of our capability. Hence it must govern every aspect of our lives – be it at work, at home, everywhere and anywhere. Integrity must be consistent throughout. There is no buts or ifs. It must be consistent, all the time! It would only take one blinker to tarnish our image. This is something we must collectively preserve. That is why if you see something is not right in front of your eyes, be the person to take action. Never condone it. Otherwise, just like cancer, it can spread like wildfire and could spell the downfall of our Organisation. In our industry, the lure and temptation can be very attractive. So, let’s together uphold our integrity. At all times.

Dear Colleagues,

26. Those are some of the key values which have been beneficial for me throughout my career. My hope is that you will find it useful for you to further chart your career. Your own path.

27. PETRONAS is a very large company. One have abundance of opportunities across the Organisation and it is really up to you to grab these golden opportunities. Therefore, I hope you will build your career by moving around within the Organisation as there are intrinsic values and benefits,` and exposure that you will gain. It will help you later as you climb the corporate ladder. Jauh perjalanan, luas pemandangan.

28. Having said so, just some words of caution. Never settle into any comfort zones as you must continuously find new challenges. Avoid these 3 demons – job security, predictability and familiarity. It could easily consume your ideals. And you will miss out the opportunity to maximise your true potential.

29. I wish you all the best in this new chapter of your life. The best investment one can make is always investing in your own development. I rejoice if in your personal journey you become the best version of yourself. Robin Sharma aptly summarise this and I wish the same for you: “when you were born, you cried while the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die, the world cries while you rejoice.”

30. Wabillahitaufiq wal Hidayah, wassalamu’alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa baraktuh.