KUALA LUMPU, 26 june — The Sessions Court was told today that the action of a former manager at Petronas in leaking confidential information from the oil company to Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) could affect the negotiation process between the two oil companies involved.
Petronas General Manager, Syakirah Mustapa, 51, said that if information on reports relating to Petronas’ operational and financial performance were leaked to competitors, they could find out Petronas’ current operational and financial performance for the first quarter as well as the overall estimate for 2024.
“This information leak could affect the negotiation process between Petronas and Petros and potentially cause negotiations that are not profitable for Petronas,” he said when reading his witness statement at the trial of Mohd Khairul Akmal Mohd Jasni on charges of attempting to disclose the report to Petros.
The second prosecution witness said that as the individual responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of company documents, Mohd Khairul Akmal had indeed betrayed the trust given if it was proven that he leaked or attempted to leak the report to a third party.
“No permission was ever given to him (Mohd Khairul Akmal) to use the report for personal purposes or share it with third parties.
“The third party is Datuk Janin Girie who is a former Petronas employee and currently holds the position of Chief Executive Officer of Petros while Azha Jalil is the Chief Financial Officer of Petros. I am not sure whether Mohd Khairul Akmal knows both individuals,” said Syakirah during examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Noor Syafina Mohd Radzuan.
Syakirah said the role of Mohd Khairul Akmal, who held the position of Petronas Business Unit Performance Manager for 22 months, was to manage the preparation of financial performance reports for upstream businesses on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
The process of preparing the report, he said, involved two main groups, namely Business Performance Improvement (BPI) and Business Planning and Performance Reporting (BPPR).
“The report was controlled and initiated by BPI and given to BPPR to complete the relevant sections. The group consists of me, Mohd Khairul Akmal and seven other individuals,” he said, who heads BPPR.
The witness said Mohd Khairul Akmal was not allowed to share the report with any outside parties other than those involved in preparing the report, but the accused was suspected of leaking company information via Petronas emails.
Apart from that, Syakirah said she had made a comparison and confirmed that the document sent by Mohd Khairul Akmal to a third party via Mohd Khairul Akmal’s email was the same as the original report “Q1 2024 Upstream Business Performance – Operational and Financial”.
“The document was presented by me and Jasmin Nisha to the Upstream Leadership Team on May 10, 2024 without any changes to its original content,” the witness explained.
Meanwhile, when cross-examined by lawyer Louis Liaw Vern Xien representing Mohd Khairul Akmal, the witness said he was surprised by Mohd Khairul Akmal’s actions because he had performed his duties well throughout his tenure.
Mohd Khairul Akmal, 41, is charged with attempting to disclose information, namely a document titled “Q1 2024 Upstream Business Performance Operational & Financial” to Petros, which the document was obtained while carrying out his duties as Petronas Business Unit Performance Manager, at a condominium unit in Jalan Pinang, here, between 3.19 pm and 3.21 pm, June 8, 2024.
The charge under Section 203A(1) of the Penal Code is read together with Section 511 of the same code which provides for a maximum fine of RM1 million or imprisonment of up to one year, while Section 511 carries a prison sentence not exceeding half of Section 203A(1), if convicted.
The trial before Judge Mazuliana Abdul Rashid continues on July 7.
— BERNAMA
