Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced the impending appointment of Mohd Sidek Hassan as the chairperson of Petronas last night.

NONE He said Mohd Sidek ( right ), whose term as chief secretary to the government ends today, would hold the position as soon as several internal matters at Petronas were resolved.

The current acting chairperson of the company is its president and chief executive officer Shamsul Azhar Abbas.      

Najib added that the appointment was in appreciation of Mohd Sidek’s exemplary leadership and integrity in the public service sector.    

“I’m confident and believe that Mohd Sidek will contribute greatly to (Petronas) and enhance the relationship between Petronas and the government,” he said at a dinner honouring Mohd Sidek in Kuala Lumpur.     

Also present at the dinner were the prime minister’s wife Rosmah Mansor, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his wife Noorainee Abdul Rahman and Mohd Sidek’s wife, Wan Noorlina Wan Hussin.

Mohd Sidek was appointed as chief secretary to the government on Sept 3, 2006, with a three-time extension to date.

Dr Ali Hamsa, 57, currently the Public-Private Partnership Unit director-general in the Prime Minister’s Department, would take over as the new chief secretary to the government effective June 24.

In the space of six years at the helm of the public sector, Mohd Sidek has raised the level of its service to one which could be emulated as a global benchmark.

“During Mohd Sidek’s leadership, ties between the public and private sector were strengthened and he raised the civil service’s management process by introducing the settlement of government bills within 14 days.

“The most successful transformation was the Blue Ocean Strategy which achieved encouraging results,” he said.  

Najib expressed his confidence that as someone who has been in service for 38 years Mohd Sidek was not one to seek personal glory but whose contribution was evident.    

Meanwhile, Mohd Sidek said the prime minister’s announcement of his appointment came as a huge surprise. “I thought as the chief secretary and secretary to the cabinet, there should be no secrets between us, but this announcement is a secret to me... I only knew about it when the prime minister announced it,” he said.  

Mohd Sidek said he appreciated the appointment and pledged to serve his best.  

- Bernama