KOTA KINABALU: The oil and gas industry in Sabah will prioritise the people from the state in terms of employment, said state Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
"As long as Sabah has skilled workers, they will be given priority. Since early last year, all non-Sabahan workers must apply for work permits.
"If there are skilled people in Sabah, we will recruit them," he said in a question-and-answer session at the state assembly here.
Masidi, who is also state local government and housing minister, said this in reply to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (Warisan-Senallang) who wanted to know about the local employment, the creation of private companies and discrepancy in state revenue projections related to the industry.
He said the upskilling training with Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) would ensure that the people would continue to have a future in the industry.
Masidi said state-owned SMJ Petroleum Sdn Bhd would serve as an umbrella company to enable Petronas to provide more jobs to private companies in Sabah.