Premier emphasises insurance role in Sarawak’s development

KUCHING (Sept 24): Insurance serves as part of a financial instrument that supports the economic development of Sarawak, said Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

The Premier said with Sarawak’s focus on the development of strategic and high-impact industries, this would create assets for the state, which in turn would need to be insured.

“For instance, we have investments from Korean and Japanese companies which are producing 240,000 tonnes of hydrogen to be exported back to their countries and the hydrogen production plants cost billions of dollars.

“With such assets, the coverage of the insurance will be big. This means that we have to have this sort of assets that can create value that needs protection through insurance products and as such, the business will expand,” he said at Perinsuran Brokar Sdn Bhd’s 50th anniversary celebration here last night.

Also present were Perinsuran Brokar chief executive officer Rafidah Adenan and technical advisor Jeffrey Ho.

Abang Johari said the Sarawak government has been working very hard to increase the state’s asset value.

“For Sarawak, industrialisation only started in 1987 and back then, I was given the trust by the late Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to form that ministry (Ministry of Industrial Development).

“Among the companies we managed to bring in included Taiyo Yuden and the (asset value) were not that big, and neither were the government assets back then. By the 90s, the only asset that was growing was plantation.

“Against that background, we have since been carrying out efforts to diversify our economy to add value to our resources and build up our assets,” he said.

He added that with the growing number of assets in the state, this would also enable the insurance sector to grow.

The Premier commended Perinsuran Brokar, under the leadership of Rafidah, for its successful transition from a company providing services to the oil and gas industry to a scalable enterprise specialising in risk advisory solutions and corporate insurance.

“It was not only (Chinese business magnate) Jack Ma who went through that journey but a Sarawakian by the name of Rafidah also went through such journey.

“I would also like to extend my congratulations to the Perinsuran Brokar team who were there with Rafidah when she wanted to restructure and turn around the company,” he said.

Established in 1974 to service the oil and gas industry in Miri, Perinsuran Brokar has overcome numerous challenges to become Malaysia’s second largest insurance broker and is the largest privately owned insurance broker in Sarawak.

The company has a workforce of 50 operating out of the head office in Kuching and the branch in Kuala Lumpur.

Since 1998, Perinsuran Brokar has expanded its footprint to cover not only the oil and gas industry but also to provide independent advice and multiple types of risk coverage to Malaysian and international clients from the aviation, construction, infrastructure, logistics, manufacturing, media, renewables and the shipping sectors.