Oil price drop no cause for alarm: Labuan MP
Published on: Monday, January 26, 2015
Labuan: The slide in world oil prices is no cause for alarm although the oil and gas (O&G) industry is the engine of Labuan's economy, said Member of Parliament Datuk Rozman Isli."Production is still going on as usual albeit a slowdown in exploration. The silver lining is that we can prepare ourselves for a rebound in a year or two," he said in an interview before closing an intensive O&G training course on blasting and painting.Echoing the Prime Minister's sentiment that Malaysia is not in a crisis, he said it was an opportunity for Labuan to address its shortcomings, especially expanding the pool of skilled local manpower for the industry.
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"With the slowdown, our potential competitors are shelving the idea of being an O&G logistical hub. Our status did not come overnight but built over the years. From infancy, we are recognised as a matured location with other O&G producers in the region interested in our services," he said.As the bulk of the skilled manpower and expertise are expatriates, he said training youths to take on such jobs would be stepped up."This is important to minimise the outflow of money. As we empower our youths to earn high income, the local economy will be sustainable and benefit in the long run," said Rozman.He commended Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera for the initiative to sponsor courses in collaboration with Institut Latihan Perusahaan (ILP) Labuan and O&G training provider SR Scaffold Resources.
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Twenty Bumiputera youths completed their three-month intensive training in blasting and painting received their certificates from Senator Datuk Yunus Kurus, at the Institute of Industrial Training (ILP) Labuan, Sunday.All the trainees were guaranteed of employment upon completion of their courses. Out of 200 applicants, only 20 were shortlisted for the programme.
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The next intake is expected to be in March and some 500 trainees are targeted for the course on scaffolding.According to the Human Resource Department, no retrenchment had been reported so far."The O&G players are well aware of the cyclical nature of prices. When it went up above US$100 a barrel, production surged worldwide and oversupply brought down the trend. "We must not forget that when fuel prices are low, other industries will benefit and this will drive up demand in a matter of time," he said, adding that it would be an opportune time for Labuan to build up its capability to meet the next phase of growth.He also pointed out that the existing infrastructure and resources had overarched its capability, particularly land, housing and accommodation."Labuan is also looking at education, tourism and MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) destination."For education, besides Universiti Malaysia-Labuan International Campus (UMS-KAL) and Labuan International School, we have ILP Labuan and other vocational institutes. Together with O&G, we have the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (IBFC) to provide opportunities for on-the-job training and attachment."Though tourism is still largely untapped in the past, our hotels are doing well. We need to attract more quality players to build higher-end accommodation. We don't have enough facilities to cater for MICE."With only a sole resort operator, Rozman said, Labuan could do with more.Commenting on the initiative by Yayasan Peneraju, the MP said it was important to empower Bumiputeras to increase quality, quantity and relevance of Bumiputera talents to participate in high-income economy of Malaysia."We cannot achieve developed nation status or high-income economy by 2020 if the talents of Bumiputeras are not nurtured as they make up 60 per cent of the workforce and population," Rozman said in his address to the 20 successful trainees.He hoped more training courses would be held in ILP Labuan, with wider participation from Sabah, Sarawak as well as the peninsula, as on-the-job training in O&G was readily available.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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