KOTA SAMARAHAN: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg
(pic) today said Miri’s economy will benefit from Shell Malaysia moving its regional headquarters there from Kuala Lumpur, along with around 2,000 workers and executives.
He said Shell’s workers and executives based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah will also be transferred to Miri. He added that Shell’s contractors will also be moving to Miri.
“They (Shell’s bosses) paid a courtesy call on me last week, telling me that they wanted to relocate their regional headquarters to Miri,” the chief minister said after chairing the state development coordination committee meeting here.
He said they came not only on the relocation of the regional headquarters but also regarding the issuance of work permits to the expatriate and non-Sarawakian workers and executives.
He added Malaysians from other states are still required to apply for permits before they can start working in Sarawak.
“What we will do is to establish a Shell desk at the Chief Minister’s Office just to accommodate them,” he said.
He said Shell Malaysia did not tell him why it is relocating its regional headquarters from Kuala Lumpur and an office in Kota Kinabalu to Miri.
“There must be good reasons for them,” he said. The chief minister said he believed that Shell Malaysia was relocating its operations to Miri due to Sarawak’s political stability and stable government.
Abang Johari said that it is not just Shell Malaysia setting up its main operations in Sarawak, but also major corporations from Japan and China.
