1. A
fter 15 years at the helm
of Malaysia’s oil giant Pet-
ronas, Mr Hassan Mari-
can steps across the cor-
porate drawbridge in
June to become Singapore Power
chairman.
He possesses a star-studded
resume centred on his 21-year ca-
reer with the energy giant, a For-
tune 500 firm with assets worth
more than RM400 billion (S$164
billion).
His early years in Petronas saw
him daring to plough national
funds into risky and controversial
territories such as Vietnam, Sudan
and Iran, snubbing embargoes by
the United States.
The relentless workaholic was
also one of the first to lead Petronas
into newly post-apartheid South
Africa by acquiring a 30 per cent
stake in the country’s leading oil
firm Engen.
Despite concerns that his
gung-ho global agenda was stretch-
ing Petronas thin, he forged ahead
into new frontiers.
And as the oil firm’s coffers
grew, he famously battled govern-
ment interference in the firm, whe-
ther in terms of management or uti-
lisation of funds.
All of that, and then some, make
Mr Marican, 60, a standout corpo-
rate executive who moved the ball
for Petronas, turning a staid manag-
er of Malaysia’s petroleum reserves
into a global player with a reach
spanning 35 countries.
That could well explain why
news of his appointment as Singa-
pore Power chairman provoked
lamentations across the Causeway
about a brain drain from Malaysia.
But lest anyone be mistaken, the
publicity-shy, grey-haired corpo-
rate chief who left Petronas in 2010
due to a lack of chemistry with
Prime Minister Najib Razak, had
moved on well before landing his
new job in Singapore.
After his exit from Petronas, it
did not take long for his formidable
track record to lead him to major
companies outside Malaysia.
He landed on the boards of Sin-
gapore’s Sembcorp Industries,
Sembcorp Marine and Singapore
Power, as well as the United States’
oil and gas giant ConocoPhillips
and boutique advisory firm Lam-
bert Energy Advisory.
But even as the Malaysian gov-
ernment let him go, Sarawak, an oil
and gas-blessed state, gave him a
board seat in utility firm Sarawak
Energy.
Penny-pinching chief
Born in the northern state of
Kedah, Mr Marican was educated at
the elite boarding school for Malay
boys, the Malay College Kuala
Kangsar, before going to Britain to
qualify as a chartered accountant.
Despite rising to become one of
his country’s top-paid chief execu-
tives, he has remained grounded in
simplicity, something he has attrib-
uted to his policeman father who
taught him early that the precious
things in life can-
not be bought.
So he has contin-
ued to live in a rela-
tively humble
abode – a double-
storey house he
b o u g h t f o r
RM240,000 in the
1980s in Ampang
J a y a , K u a l a
Lumpur, and
where he and his
wife have raised
their four children.
At the work-
place, he would
savour a lunch box
of “nasi and lauk”
(rice and curry),
topped with his favourite saltfish
sambal made by his wife.
The couple has had no qualms
taking the bus on trips to his Kedah
home town of Sungai Petani and
even on visits to Singapore. For
long hauls, he was known to fly
economy. “Why
can’t we be ordi-
nary people? That
was how I was
brought up,” he
once remarked.
For all of that,
he earned a reputa-
tion for frugality
and once admitted
laughingly in an
interview to being
“kedekut” (stingy).
Stories about
his tight-fisted
ways are legen-
dary, and go all the
way back to his ear-
ly years as an
accountant and
partner at the firm Hanafiah Raslan
and Mohamad from 1980 to 1989.
Staff were given new stationery sup-
plies only upon producing their
well-worn pencil stubs and used
ballpoint pens.
He took that money manage-
ment style with him to Petronas,
and has said: “Whether it involves
RM1 or RM10 or RM1 million or
RM10 million is not relevant. The
expenditure must be justifiable, rel-
evant and beneficial.”
The rise of Petronas
Without a doubt, Petronas, which
made sales of RM241 billion and
earned RM63 billion in financial
year 2011, is the country’s best cor-
porate success story.
Unlike many deep-pocketed
state-owned enterprises, it ran inde-
pendently, fending off government
intervention, except for a few fum-
bles, including buying over flag-
ging national carmaker Proton,
which it later divested.
At the heart of this success story
is Mr Marican, who was 36 when
he joined Petronas’ finance divi-
sion in 1989 as its youngest senior
vice-president. Six years later, he
took over the top job.
“When Hassan took over Petro-
nas, it was really nothing to shout
about,” recalls a former close col-
league. “He became the commando
on the ground, doing things his
way. When you want speed, you
have to make that call. There’s no
time for committee meetings.”
He turned the thin rope
between national agenda and com-
mercial interest thick with profes-
sionalism, perhaps inevitably rub-
bing politicians the wrong way in
the process.
But he moved boldly, with the
backing of the then Petronas chair-
man, the late Mr Azizan Zainul,
who had been impressed by the
young accountant and had
brought him in.
Soon after his appointment as
Petronas president and chief execu-
tive in 1995, Mr Marican declared:
“We have set a target that by the
year 2005, 30 per cent of our reve-
nue will be earned from interna-
tional operations.”
Five years later, he beat that
deadline. By 2000, international
operations accounted for 32 per
cent of Petronas’ revenue. Four
years ago, the international divi-
sion became the largest revenue
earner, and in 2010 held a 45 per
cent share of the sales pie.
With a leadership change in
Malaysia, it became an open secret
in corporate circles that there was
simmering friction between Mr
Marican and Prime Minister Najib.
Things came to a head in late
2009 when he resisted the appoint-
ment of a trusted aide of the Prime
Minister to the board of Petronas.
The rift was widely known and
talked about in corporate and politi-
cal circles.
After 15 years and a sterling
record, some observers felt it was
time for Mr Marican to move on.
But those who know him expect
more to come from the man who
once said: “If you want to be
involved in something, you want
to be a major player in it.”
anitag@sph.com.sg
M
ediaCorp’s Channel 5 used to be a
common space where viewers of all
races would tune in and enjoy its
programmes. A show like the popular
Under One Roof, which ran from
1995 to 2003, featured a multi-ethnic
cast. You will not find such a cast on
Channel 8 (Chinese), or Suria (Malay) or Vasantham
(Indian). Growing Up (1996-2001), a locally produced
drama series set in the 1960s, also provided much common
ground for viewers, many of whom shared the characters’
early Housing Board background. The channel also had
news feature programmes like Friday Background, for
example, which drew the more serious-minded.
Now, just about the only show which viewers do talk
about is The Noose, a parody of the news and stories of the
moment. But it appears to be more popular with the
young. Mature viewers have little to watch – poorly
produced local shows with no clear identity, old seasons of
American drama series, movie re-runs and appalling variety
shows such as amateur video compilations. No wonder its
daily viewership fell from 1,038,000 in 2010 to 998,000 last
year, according to a survey by data company Nielsen. Its
supporters will argue that in recent years it has faced
increasing competition from the pay-TV channels. But
Channel 8 too has stiff competition from shows that are
broadcast from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China over a
number of pay-TV channels. Yet, its viewership grew from
1.8 million to 1.9 million in the same timeframe. What has
Channel 8 done right that Channel 5 has not? To win back
its viewers and become again the common space that it
was, Channel 5 should study Channel 8’s winning formula
and concentrate its resources on developing and acquiring
those shows that find resonance among Singapore viewers.
Mr Hassan Marican was born in
1952 in Sungai Petani, Kedah, the
son of a policeman. He is married,
with four children.
He attended the elite boarding
school for Malay boys, the Malay
College Kuala Kangsar, in Perak and
qualified as a chartered accountant
in Britain.
He worked in London from 1972
to 1980 before returning to
Malaysia to be a partner in
accounting firm Hanafiah Raslan
and Mohamad (1980-1989).
He joined Petronas as senior
vice-president (finance) in 1989
and was its president and chief
executive from 1995 to 2010.
He is a director of Sarawak
Energy, Sembcorp Industries,
Sembcorp Marine, Singapore Power,
Lambert Energy Advisory and
ConocoPhillips. He will be
Singapore Power chairman from
June.
FROM MALAYSIA TO SINGAPORE BOARDROOM
Hassan Marican, known for frugality,
made a success story out of Malaysian
oil giant, with a gung-ho global agenda
The man who turned
Petronas around
[ EDITORIAL ]
Ch 5 needs re-tuning
Anita Gabriel
Senior Correspondent
PHOTO: BERNAMA
Mr Hassan Marican (above) left Petronas in 2010, due to a lack of chemistry with Prime Minister Najib Razak. Mr Marican will be Singapore Power chairman from June.
29thinkApril 8, 2012 thesundaytimes