KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — The Sessions Court was told today that the actions of a former manager at Petronas in leaking confidential information of the oil company to Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) could jeopardize the negotiation process between the two oil companies.
Petronas General Manager Syakirah Mustapa, 51, said that if reports regarding Petronas’s operational and financial performance were leaked to a competitor, they would be able to know the current operational and financial performance of Petronas Upstream for the first quarter, as well as the overall estimates for the year 2024.
“The information includes financial strength, operational performance, production volume and issues, health, safety, and environmental issues, oil and gas discoveries, project investments, and company divestment issues such as in Sudan.
“The leak of this information could jeopardize the negotiation process between Petronas and Petros, potentially leading to negotiations that are disadvantageous to Petronas,” she said when reading her witness statement during the trial of Mohd Khairul Akmal Mohd Jasni, who is charged with attempting to disclose the report to Petros.
The second prosecution witness added that as the individual entrusted with maintaining the confidentiality of company documents, Mohd Khairul Akmal had indeed betrayed the trust given to him if it is 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 to share it with a third party.
“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 if Mohd Khairul Akmal knows both individuals,” Syakirah said during the examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Noor Syafina Mohd Radzuan.
Syakirah said that Mohd Khairul Akmal’s role, who held the position of Business Unit Performance Manager at Petronas for 22 months, was to manage the preparation of financial performance reports for the upstream business on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
She said the process of preparing the report involved two main groups: Business Performance Improvement (BPI) and Business Planning and Performance Reporting (BPPR).
“The report is controlled and initiated by BPI and given to BPPR to complete the relevant sections. The group consists of myself, Mohd Khairul Akmal, and seven other individuals,” said Syakirah, who heads BPPR.
The witness said Mohd Khairul Akmal was not allowed to share the report with any external party other than those involved in its preparation, but the accused is suspected of leaking company information through Petronas’s email.
In addition, Syakirah said she had conducted a comparison and confirmed that the document sent by Mohd Khairul Akmal to a third party through his email was identical to the original report titled “Q1 2024 Upstream Business Performance – Operational and Financial”.
“The document was presented by myself and Jasmin Nisha to the Upstream Leadership Team on May 10, 2024, without any changes to its original content,” the witness explained.
Meanwhile, during cross-examination by lawyer Louis Liaw Vern Xien representing Mohd Khairul Akmal, the witness said she was shocked by Mohd Khairul Akmal’s actions because he had performed his duties well throughout his tenure in the position.
Mohd Khairul Akmal, 41, is charged with attempting to disclose information, specifically a document titled “Q1 2024 Upstream Business Performance Operational & Financial” to Petros. The document was obtained while executing his duties as the Petronas Business Unit Performance Manager, at a condominium unit in Jalan Pinang, here, between 3:19 pm and 3:21 pm on June 8, 2024.
The charge is framed under Section 203A(1) of the Penal Code, read together with Section 511 of the same Code, which provides for a maximum fine of RM1 million or imprisonment for up to one year, while Section 511 carries a prison sentence of not more than half of the maximum term under Section 203A(1), upon conviction.
The trial before Judge Mazuliana Abdul Rashid will resume on July 7. — Bernama
Date: 26 June, 2026 6:00 pm
Source: Malay Mail
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