Gerawat says the recent meeting between the Bangladesh High Commission and Abang Johari did not involve the state oil company.
MIRI (April 17): Claims circulating on social media that Sarawak and Bangladesh have reached an agreement to cooperate in developing Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) are false and misleading, clarified Datuk Gerawat Gala.
The Deputy Minister in Sarawak Premier’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring) said the recent meeting between the Bangladesh High Commission and Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg did not involve the state oil company.
“There was no discussion or agreement on any Petros-related matter,” he said in a Facebook post.
Gerawat said the meeting was held at the request of the Bangladesh High Commission to explore potential areas of cooperation between the Government of Bangladesh and the Sarawak government.
Among the matters raised was a Bangladeshi proposal to increase employment of its nationals in Sarawak, noting that current numbers remain relatively small compared to other foreign worker groups.
The Bangladesh side also highlighted an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the federal government on worker recruitment and asked whether Sarawak would consider a similar arrangement at state level.
Gerawat said the Premier had instructed his ministry to study the proposal, but stressed that no decision or commitment had been made.
Gerawat, thus, urged the public to verify information before sharing, and not be misled by inaccurate online posts.
