PETRONAS Announces Retirement of Current Chairman, Welcomes Appointment of New Chairman

KUALA LUMPUR, 12 July 2021 - PETRONAS wishes to announce that its Chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam Salleh will be retiring from the Company and its Board after having served his three-year contractual tenure from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2021.

Upon his retirement, Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam will assume the role of Chairman in Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd. He remains as Chairman of the KLCC Group of Companies, which includes the KLCC Stapled Group that comprises KLCC Property Holdings Bhd and KLCC Real Estate Investment Trust (KLCC REIT).

Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam will pass the PETRONAS chairmanship baton to Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh, following the latter’s appointment as announced by the Prime Minister earlier today. Tan Sri Mohd Bakke currently serves the Company as an independent director as well as the Chairman of its Risk Committee and a Member of its Audit Committee. His appointment as PETRONAS Chairman takes effect from 1 August 2021.

Prior to assuming the role of PETRONAS Chairman, Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam had served the Company in various leadership positions for 37 years. Together with the PETRONAS Board, he was instrumental in facilitating the Commercial Settlement Agreement between PETRONAS and Sarawak over the imposition of State Sales Tax for petroleum products as well for the resolution of other oil and gas matters. These have paved the way for greater PETRONAS-Sarawak collaboration as well as for more active participation by the State in the oil and gas sector.

Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam has been instrumental in ensuring continued local participation in the Malaysian oil and gas industry within a fair and equitable framework. Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam also steered the Board to strengthen the foundation for PETRONAS' high-impact projects, particularly the Pengerang Integrated Complex in Johor and PETRONAS LNG project in Canada, to deliver long-term sustainable value to PETRONAS.

At the same time, throughout his chairmanship of Yayasan PETRONAS, the Foundation continued to contribute to the communities across Malaysia through initiatives that deliver sustainable impact in the areas of Education, Environment and Community Well-Being to improve the quality of life and socio-economic outcomes of the beneficiaries. Yayasan PETRONAS’ initiatives remain uninterrupted even during the current prolonged COVID-19 situation in the country.

PETRONAS takes this opportunity to thank Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam for his invaluable contributions and commitment of service, and for his guidance for and stewardship of the PETRONAS Board over the last three years. His wealth of diverse experience has contributed to PETRONAS’ growth and progress on many strategic levels and will continue to benefit the organisations that he will serve in the future.

Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam said: “It has truly been a privilege to have served PETRONAS for the past 40 years, bearing witness to and being directly involved in its many milestones of growth and accomplishments that have taken the Company to where it proudly stands today.

“In the last three years PETRONAS has gone through unprecedented challenges, compounded by the demands of the transitioning industry landscape and the changing expectations of our stakeholders at home and abroad, requiring us to hasten our transformation to be where we will need to be for longevity and sustainability.

“As Chairman, I have been extremely fortunate to have had the collective trust and support of a well-functioning Board willing to challenge, debate and discuss the decisions we made to ensure PETRONAS would be on the right track to achieve its aspirations.

“I would like to express my whole-hearted appreciation to the Board members as well as the Executive Leadership Team of PETRONAS for making my job easier. I would also like to congratulate Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh on his appointment and wish him all the best in steering PETRONAS towards its next chapters of growth.”

Apart from his current capacities in PETRONAS Board, Tan Sri Mohd Bakke is currently serving Telekom Malaysia Bhd as Chairman since 11 May 2020. Prior to Telekom Malaysia, he was the Chairman of Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) from 1 July 2019 until 30 April 2020.

Before his appointment to FELDA’s chairmanship, Tan Sri Mohd Bakke held various positions in Sime Darby Group, including as the Group Chief Executive Officer and President of Sime Darby Bhd from 2010. In 2017, after the de-merger of the Group, he was appointed Executive Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Sime Darby Plantation Bhd until his retirement in mid-2019.

Prior to Sime Darby, Tan Sri Mohd Bakke was the Group Managing Director of Felda Holdings Bhd in 2005. He subsequently took the role of Group President and CEO of Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd in January 2009. Prior to the stint in Felda, he was the Group MD and CEO of Lembaga Tabung Haji from 2001 to 2005 and served as the Chairman of Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd from April 2008 to July 2010.

Tan Sri Mohd Bakke’s vast experience serving various organisations in diverse capacities will help ensure PETRONAS’ business longevity and steer the Company towards achieving its ambitions of becoming a progressive energy entity as it charts its growth forward.

Issued by

Media Engagement Department
Group Strategic Communications 
PETRONAS