PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia must accept the reality that the country can no longer be overly dependent on dividends from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), as the national oil company operates as a commercial entity whose performance is closely tied to global oil prices.
He said Petronas’ dividend payments to the government are determined by market conditions and the performance of the oil and gas industry, which remains subject to volatility amid an uncertain global landscape.
“Petronas is a commercial entity. The dividend depends on the performance and the price of petroleum. We have to accept reality.
“The country, in order to move forward, cannot be too dependent on Petronas’ offerings,” he said during a one-hour briefing with 92 local and international media editors-in-chief here on Wednesday.
The prime minister said this in response to questions on whether the government is concerned about the state-owned oil company’s declining dividend payout and whether the trend is expected to continue.
Anwar said that while the government naturally seeks higher dividends to support national development, such expectations must be balanced against prevailing global conditions in the oil and gas sector.
“As much as we want more dividends, we also have to look at what is happening globally and within the oil and gas industry,” he said, adding that Malaysia must focus on creating new business entities and economic drivers that can generate sustainable revenue for the government going forward.
Petronas, the country’s sole Fortune 500 company, is the single-largest contributor to government coffers. The Finance Ministry, in its Fiscal Outlook and Federal Government Revenue Estimates 2026 Report, said that for next year, the government expects a RM20 billion dividend from Petronas compared with the RM32 billion the company has committed to pay for 2025.
Speaking to reporters following the Budget 2026 presentation in Parliament in October, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the government is working on the assumption that oil prices will range from US$60-US$65 (RM245-RM266) per barrel next year, dragging down petroleum-related revenue. – Bernama
