Kota Kinabalu: A former senior Sabah oil and gas official refuted recent remarks by State Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, calling them “misleading” and lacking historical context regarding the state’s petroleum development.
Abdul Kadir Abdullah Damsal, former CEO of Sabah Oil & Gas Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (SOGDC) and a practicing advocate and solicitor, challenged the Finance Minister’s assertion that Sabah’s oil and gas industry only began to turn around with the formation of SMJ Energy (SMJE) in 2021.
Abdul Kadir pointed out that multiple state-linked companies, including Sabah Energy Corporation (SEC), Sabah International Petroleum (SIP), Yayasan Sabah subsidiaries and SOGDC itself, were actively engaged in the sector well before SMJE’s establishment.
He credited the state’s earlier momentum to the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration, noting that Petronas, encouraged by political stability at the time, launched the Sabah Integrated Oil and Gas Project (SIOGP) in 2014 — an initiative involving investments totalling close to RM54 billion.
“These projects laid the groundwork for Sabah’s current oil and gas infrastructure, creating thousands of jobs and supporting local engineering and services companies,” he said in a statement.
Abdul Kadir also emphasised that a Joint Working Committee (JWC) was formed to facilitate cooperation between the state and Petronas. This collaboration reportedly led to increased gas allocations for Sabah and significant progress in local capacity building, including the appointment of Sabahan CEOs at Petronas’ Sabah Ammonia Urea (Samur) plant.
“Contrary to claims, the industry did not lie dormant until SMJE arrived. In fact, Sabahans have long played key roles in oil and gas operations, without resorting to political pressure tactics to ‘Sabahanise’ entities like Samur,” he stated.
He further criticised the assertion that Sabah-based oil and gas firms secured RM2 billion worth of Petronas contracts in 2024, describing the figure as potentially misleading without a proper breakdown. “The contracts may not have been awarded solely within Sabah, and the public deserves clarity on how much was awarded to truly local, wholly Sabahan-owned firms,” Abdul Kadir said.
On the matter of SMJE’s financial performance, Abdul Kadir claimed that the company’s reported RM362 million profit in 2024 was a group figure and not solely attributable to its upstream stake in the Samarang field. “Significant contributions came from SIP’s 10 per cent equity in LNG Train 9 in Bintulu — a deal initiated during the BN government and completed under Warisan,” he said.
He also noted that other state-owned entities, such as Suria Capital, Sawit Kinabalu, and Qhazanah Sabah, have long operated as billion-ringgit asset-based corporations, suggesting that SMJE’s growth should not be portrayed as an isolated success story.
Abdul Kadir urged the State Government to present a more accurate narrative to the public.
“The people of Sabah deserve the truth — not exaggerated claims or selective retellings of the state’s economic development,” he said.
