Quoting sources, it said Mohd Omar Mustapha, chairman of the national oil company’s remuneration committee, was also expected to quit.

According to the report, the possible departures of Sidek and Omar raise the question of whether this will pave the way for the return of former president and CEO Mohd Hassan Marican to Petronas.

Hassan is a member of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Council of Eminent Persons. He is also chairman of Sembcorp Marine Ltd and senior international adviser at Temasek International Advisors.

The report said Sidek and Omar came aboard around the time when Hassan left Petronas in February 2010.

Sidek was also the chairman of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) appointed by former prime minister Najib Razak to investigate the foreign exchange losses of Bank Negara in the 1990s.

The RCI, in its report to Parliament in November last year, concluded there were elements of hidden facts and information relating to forex losses suffered by Bank Negara and that misleading statements had been given to the cabinet, Parliament and the public.

The report said Bank Negara suffered a total loss of RM31.5 billion between 1992 and 1994. The commission proposed that the police open investigations into possible criminal breach of trust or cheating by various parties, including Mahathir and then-finance minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Sidek, 67, a former chief secretary of the government, has been chairman of Petronas since July 1, 2012.

Omar, 47, chairman of Petronas remuneration committee since 2015, is also an independent non-executive director at the oil company. He was appointed to the board on Sept 15, 2009.