Petronas is one of the biggest employers in Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion.

In Myanmar, Petronas is a partner in a joint venture with interests in the Yetagun Gas Project and the Taninthayi Pipeline – a cross-border pipeline transporting gas from the Yetagun Gas field to Thailand.

It also runs the Yetagun Socio-Economic Programme, under which it works with disadvantaged communities living along the pipeline area in Kanbauk and also in Yangon. The programme focuses mainly on education, nutrition and primary healthcare, especially for children in primary schools.

The MPs are pressuring Petronas to “relinquish any and all participation in any form of operation in Myanmar” from next year onwards unless Myanmar’s government “recognises that ethnic minority Rohingya are legitimate citizens of Myanmar, (and) all manner of intimidation, subjugation, discrimination and crime against them are stopped immediately.”

Malaysia is one of the strongest critics in the region of the Rakhine crisis, and in September summoned Myanmar’s ambassador to express displeasure over the violence.

The November 8 petition, which was championed by Selangor MP Rafizi Ramli, has so far garnered the support of 47 MPs and 7 co-sponsors, which includes the European Rohingya Council and International Campaign for the Rohingya (US), according to ICR (Malaysia) president Tengku Emma Zuriana.

The move comes a day after ICR (Malaysia) sent a similar petition to Petronas.

On October 19, a group of Petronas shareholders claiming to have assets-under-management totalling $47 million sent a letter to the company asking it to pressure Myanmar to enact recommendations in the Annan Commission to settle the violence. They also asked Petronas to consider halting business with “governments complicit in genocide.”

The letter was organised by the ICR and Azzad Asset Management. It is one of six sent to executives at oil and gas companies emphasising the serious risks of doing business with Myanmar.

Petronas did notrespond to the letters and petitions as well as a request from The Myanmar Times for comment.

In October, shareholders of Chevron Corp, one of which is also Azzad Asset Management, sent a similar request to the company.

Chevron, the second-largest US-based oil producer, does business in Myanmar through a subsidiary, Unocal Myanmar Offshore Co. It has projects that include a minority interest in natural gas production and a pipeline,

That same month, Australia’s Woodside Petroleum and its partners delayed gas exploration plans in Myanmar until 2018 due to disappointing drilling results. However, analysts interviewed by Reuters said the Rakhine crisis in Myanmar may have been an additional factor.

For more details : https://www.mmtimes.com/news/mps-shareholders-ask-malaysias-petronas-exit-myanmar-operations.html