Kuala Lumpur, 27 April 2021 – PETRONAS and Microsoft recently inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to empower Malaysia’s inclusive digital economy and advance the nation’s digital transformation across the public and private sectors.
PETRONAS and Microsoft’s collaborations focus on the key areas of Digital Foundation, comprising talents’ digital upskilling and infrastructure readiness for nation-building; and Business Transformation that enables delivery of value-added energy options, and technology-digital Innovations that support sustainability.
The MoU was announced during the launch of Microsoft’s “Bersama Malaysia” initiative on Monday (April 19, 2021), attended by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
PETRONAS President and Group Chief Executive Officer Tengku Muhammad Taufik and Microsoft Malaysia Managing Director K Raman signed the MoU, witnessed by Tan Sri Muhyiddin, Senior Minister-cum-Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and PETRONAS Chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam Salleh.
“The partnership with Microsoft underlines PETRONAS’ commitment to nurturing a sustainable pipeline of a future-ready workforce equipped to support Malaysia’s digital economy. As a progressive energy and solutions partner enriching lives for a sustainable future, continuous human capital development will be integral to our ability to operate and compete. We look forward to accelerating efforts in upskilling local talents, with a view to creating an inclusive digital future for the benefit of both the people and the nation,” said Tengku Taufik.
Microsoft’s “Bersama Malaysia” initiative supports the nation’s MyDIGITAL goals to transform the country into a regional leader in the digital economy. It encompasses the establishment of Microsoft’s first datacentre region in Malaysia to deliver trusted cloud services locally, and to upskill an additional one million Malaysians in helping to create economic opportunities for the people and businesses in the digital era.
Under the “Bersama Malaysia” initiative, a MyDIGITAL Alliance Leadership Council has also been formed to collaborate on cloud-first and digital-native policy recommendations. PETRONAS Project Delivery and Technology Senior Vice President Samsudin Miskon, and PETRONAS Chief Digital Officer Aadrin Azly are members of the council.
Samsudin said, “Everything we do in PETRONAS is to enrich lives and bring forth a sustainable future. We are honoured to be a part of MyDIGITAL Alliance Leadership Council, to share what we have learnt from our accelerated technology-digital transformation and to contribute towards nation-building in various ways alongside like-minded partners.”
“No single company can close the skills gap alone. That is why we are playing our part, and we are committed in upskilling the workforce both within PETRONAS and the ecosystem, together with Microsoft, through the PETRONAS Digital Academy. Digital skills will be democratised, allowing everyone to use data with no-code tools and technologies. Our vision is a connected system of digital learning that can empower the nation’s workforce, towards a sustainable and prosperous future,” said Aadrin.
The PETRONAS Digital Academy, to be established in the near future, covers both digital foundations and technical disciplines for employees as a start. PETRONAS believes that this will enable them to acquire the latest digital skillsets and immediately apply them to relevant technology projects.
