Glc Leaders Feeling The Heat And They Re Singing Anwar S Tune

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For too long, Petronas has loomed over Malaysia like a colossus - its monopoly strangling the economy, hoarding wealth, and breeding corruption.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim isn’t just trimming its fat; he’s carving it into pieces to ensure no single entity can hold the nation’s wealth hostage again.
As of March, his war on centralised power is clear: a smaller Petronas means a freer Malaysia - one unshackled from the Dr Mahathir Mohamad-era chokehold that turned oil riches into a crony slush fund.
“This isn’t about punishment,” Anwar told Bloomberg in January.
“It’s about liberation - breaking the chains of dependence and greed.”
The case is ironclad. Petronas’ unchecked dominance - controlling 70 percent of Malaysia’s oil and gas revenue - left it ripe for abuse.
Under Umno, it bankrolled everything from 1MDB’s black hole to Mahathir’s pet projects, while states like Sarawak and Sabah got crumbs.
Anwar’s fix? Shatter the monopoly, spread the power, and kill the corruption at its root.
Government-linked company (GLC) leaders across the board are feeling the heat - and they’re singing his tune.
Voices of the purge: GLC leaders speak
Petronas CEO Tengku Taufik Kamadjaja Aziz laid it bare in a February briefing: “Without adaptation, there will be no Petronas in 10 years.”
Anwar pounced on that, demanding a leaner operation.
“Rightsizing isn’t enough,” Taufik added in a follow-up X post.
“We’re slashing waste - corruption’s a death sentence now.”
When auditors flagged a RM500 million Sarawak contract tied to an Umno-linked firm, Anwar didn’t blink.
“Terminate it,” he ordered, and it was gone - replaced by Petros, Sarawak’s state player, in under a week.
ADSKhazanah Nasional managing director Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, overseeing GLC investments, doubled down in a statement: “The old Petronas model choked innovation. Anwar’s breaking it apart to let Malaysia breathe - any leader not on board is out.”He’s not kidding - Khazanah axed two board members last month after uncovering RM200 million in “consulting fees” to political allies.
Anwar’s directive was blunt: “Clean it or I’ll clean you.”
Proton CEO Li Chunrong, steering the carmaker under Anwar’s reform lens, echoed the sentiment in a February interview: “Petronas’ monopoly drained resources from industries like ours. Smaller is stronger - corruption gets no air here.”
When an RM150 million parts contract smelled of kickbacks, Li scrapped it on Anwar’s orders, bragging later, “We’re building cars, not cronies.”
Even Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s CEO Baharin Din, grappling with energy grid upgrades, weighed in during a January energy forum: “Petronas hogged the pie while we begged for scraps. Anwar’s right - decentralise it, and we all win.”
An RM300 million fuel supply deal with a dubious middleman? Anwar killed it in February, redirecting funds to local grids.
S’wak contracts: Freedom through fragmentation
Sarawak is living proof of why Petronas must shrink.
As of March, Petros controls gas distribution - 1.2 billion cubic feet daily - under a deal Anwar brokered with Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg. This isn’t charity; it’s strategy.
Sarawak’s 60 percent share of Malaysia’s gas reserves was once Petronas’ cash cow, but now it’s fueling state-led growth.
When an RM700 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport contract hinted at padded costs, Anwar didn’t negotiate - he torched it. “Petros can handle it,” he said, per a Putrajaya insider.
Result? Sarawak keeps more revenue, and Petronas’ bloat shrinks.
Taufik admitted the shift stings: “Our 2024 profit dropped to RM55.1 billion - Sarawak’s rise cost us.”
But Anwar sees freedom, not loss. A smaller Petronas can’t dominate like it did under Mahathir, when billions flowed to his sons’ “konsortiums” instead of Malaysians.
Sabah gas pipelines: Power to the periphery
Sabah’s gas pipelines tell the same story. The Trans Sabah Gas Pipeline, stalled for years, got an RM2 billion jolt after Anwar demanded local control.
SMJ Energy now co-runs the Kimanis plant, and when a multi-million repair deal reeked of a Perikatan Nasional crony, Anwar’s response was swift: “Delete it.”
SMJ took over, and Sabah’s rural grids are finally lighting up. “Petronas can’t be king anymore,” TNB’s Baharin noted. “Anwar’s giving us room to grow.”
This fragmentation - Sarawak’s Petros, Sabah’s SMJ - ensures that no Mahathir 2.0 can hijack a single giant. A smaller Petronas, stripped of its monopoly, can’t fund Umno-style empires or bleed the ringgit dry.
Freedom dividend: Ringgit and beyond
The ringgit’s value to the US dollar, battered but stirring. Anwar’s shrinking Petronas to redirect its profits - RM20 billion earmarked for Pengerang refineries, not Singapore’s pockets.
His de-dollarisation push - yuan and ringgit trade pacts - cuts the petrodollar leash.
When an RM1.2 billion LNG deal with a US-Singapore firm raised graft flags, Anwar axed it, snarling, “We don’t need their chains.”
GLC leaders get it. Khazanah’s Amirul said, “A smaller Petronas frees capital for real growth - Anwar’s rewriting the rules.”
Proton’s Li added, “Corruption’s dead under him - our freedom’s the payoff.”
Anwar’s not just purging; he’s building a Malaysia where no cartel can strangle its future.
Petronas’ monopoly is history, and with it, the specter of Mahathir’s tyranny.
Anwar is making it smaller to make Malaysia bigger.
Free from cronies, free from foreign masters, and free to rise. - Mkini
TUAN MUDA is the pseudonym of Mudasir Khan, an American corporate transplant who grew up in Penang and brings a unique blend of global insight and local expertise to the logistics industry.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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