Sarawak-owned Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd has appointed former Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) executive Anuar Ismail, 57, as its new group CEO, effective Aug 17, 2026.
He takes over from Datuk Ruslan Abdul Ghani, 59, who is departing to join Sarawak Energy Bhd.
Bintulu Port Holdings has yet to announce a successor for the president role, which Ruslan had held since December 2024 following an organisational restructuring.
According to a filing, Anuar most recently served as head of state relations at Petronas. He previously held several senior positions within the national oil company, including head of integrated hydrocarbon management at Malaysia Petroleum Management, head of Sarawak assets at Petronas Carigali, and chairman and country head of Petronas South Sudan.
New group CEO of Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd Anuar Ismail.
Anuar holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Case Western Reserve University in the US.
The leadership change comes just over a month after Bintulu Port Holdings completed its transition to state ownership under the Sarawak government, via a tripartite agreement signed by the federal government, the Sarawak government, and Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd.
The agreement released the federal government from its obligations under the 1992 privatisation agreement governing the port, marking the end of Bintulu Port’s more than three decades as a federal port. Bintulu Port Holdings had earlier described the transition as one of the milestones under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), with Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd continuing to operate the port.
The Sarawak government remains the largest shareholder of Bintulu Port Holdings, holding a combined 41.71% stake through the State Financial Secretary Sarawak and Equisar Assets Sdn Bhd, while Petronas owns a 28.52% interest.
On Ruslan’s departure, Bintulu Port Holdings said he “played a key leadership role in overseeing the successful transition of the port transfer from being a Federal port to a Sarawak port and ensuring Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd continues as the port operator of Bintulu Port.”
Ruslan joined the port operator in September 2022 as group chief executive designate before being appointed group CEO in March 2023.
During his tenure, he oversaw the company’s expansion into beyond-port businesses and low-carbon initiatives, while leading its digital transformation and sustainability agenda, the filing noted.
At the noon break on Monday, Bintulu Port Holdings’ shares fell 16 sen, or 2.9%, to RM5.34, valuing the group at RM2.46 billion.
