I got this by e-mail, I do not know who the author of this letter is. Maybe there is some truth in this. As you all can remember, when Lim Guan Eng requested for funds to build the second bridge for Penang. Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) does not fund infrastructure projects, said its corporate planning/development division vice-president, Datuk Nasarudin Mohd Idris. He was responding to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's proposal that Petronas fund the second Penang Bridge project, valued at over RM2 billion."Petronas only contributes to the government's coffers in the form of dividends.

He conveniently forgets this, In 1998, the oil company was forced to use its shipping arm, Malaysian International Shipping Corp Bhd, which has made a fortune through its gas tanker business, to acquire a debt-laden shipping concern, Konsortium Perkapalan Bhd (KPB), controlled by Mirzan Mahathir, a son of the former prime minister, which faced debts estimated at about RM1.7 billion. It also became the anchor tenant in Petronas Towers, the two iconic buildings in central Kuala Lumpur, that for a time were the world’s tallest – and that were also critically short of tenants in the years after they were completed.

Now onto the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra Much as we like to encourage appreciation of Western Music in Malaysia why is it that Petronas sees it fit to finance the 'Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra' which is a misnomer because 95% of its 105 musicians are foreign and mainly European. Each musician is paid between Rm 16,000- RM28,000 per month. They are given 2 months paid holiday and working conditions which are second to none in the world. They have not one but 3 European conductors ! The Chief Conductor is paid RM130,000 per month and the Associate Conductor gets paid RM 50,000 per month. The total Monthly budget for this orchestra is RM 3.5 million.

The Malaysian Conductor Ooi Chean See resigned because it was widely known she was being undermined and not allowed to develop in her career. During her time with the orchestra, her concert scehdule decreased gradually to the point she was doing only a couple 'Children's Concerts' per year.

The orchestra has been in existence for 10 years now and the total amount spent on this orchestra has been a staggering RM 500 million.

Yes, Petronas does not have money for bridges for Malaysians but it has money to splash on foreign musicians. Petronas does not appear to have real desire to train or give opportunity to locals musicians. They promised to set up an Academy of Music to train local musicians with the tutors drawn from the orchestra but this sadly has not materialised.

Since its inception, the Malaysian Philharmonic orchestra has not increased its Malaysian participation which still stands at a shameful 4%. They have cosmetic programs like 'outreach' to supposedly encourage the love of western classical music to local Malaysians but these are essentially self serving publicity stunts. Even the newly formed 'Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra' is a publicity stunt with no serious commitment to develop Malaysian talent. It is poorly organised and its musicians meet about twice a year only! The previous founding CEO of the orchestra Mr Hamid Abu Bakar was clueless about music and left the artistic decisions to IMG, an international music agency who have successfully milked Petronas for tens of millions of
dollars.

The current CEO Juniwati Hussin is a chemist by training and is a slight improvement because she does actually attend the concerts and is not averse to learning to appreciate western classical music. But the overall artisitc planning and direction in controlled by the Europeans who have a vested interest telling Petronas that there is no talent in Malaysia and the ignorant management of Petronas are happy to maintain the status quo. It would appear that they prefer foreign participation in this 'Malaysian Orchestra' than to have Malaysians. What a pathetic mindset.

I hope issues like this will be brought up in parliament. Why can't Petronas train local musicians, provide scholarships for locals to study abroad if need be, and then employ them in the orchestra. In a matter of a few years we can have an orchestra consisting of Malaysians true to the name Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and good enough to rival the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.There is an abundance of talent in Malaysia. The sad fact is, Malaysian talent is usually recognised overseas.