MIRI, Mac 2 — In one of the longhouses deep in the interior of Ulu Baram, Franklin George stands before a group of young men, patiently explaining what lies ahead. Training schedules, certifications, and possible job placements.
Some listen quietly. Others ask practical questions. How far they will have to travel, how long they will be away from home, and whether they can return during important seasons.
Franklin answers in a mix of Malay and Penan, shifting effortlessly between languages and registers. He understands the concerns even before they are fully formed. He lived it himself, having grown up in a Penan family, one of the last nomadic communities in Sarawak.
Now, Franklin is an Executive at PETRONAS, based in Miri, where he works on community initiatives that connect rural youths to skills training and employment opportunities. Work that is deeply personal to him.
*Work Rooted In Understanding*
Franklin began his career with PETRONAS in 2022 as part of the Sabah–Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP) team. He later transitioned to the PETRONAS Sarawak regional office in 2025, while retaining the same role.
It was during his time with SSGP that he started leading the Re-skilling Community Programme (ReCP), a PETRONAS social impact initiative designed to open employment pathways for youths in rural Lawas, Limbang, Bintulu and Miri.
As he coordinates training schedules and seeks partners to sponsor the youths, Franklin sometimes recalls a journey from his own childhood – standing in the back of a mud-caked truck, gripping the side rail as it rattled along logging roads in Ulu Baram.
Back then, travel itself felt like an event. Reaching school, or the nearest town in Miri, often meant enduring hours of rough terrain.
“Long Kerong is on the way to Bario. From Miri, it’s an eight-hour drive in good weather, and longer if it rains, up to a jetty. From there, a small river boat takes about two hours, and when the water is shallow, the journey can stretch to five hours, carrying or pulling the boat along,” said Franklin.
Those memories instilled in him a deep understanding of the obstacles rural youth face today. Securing training partners, coordinating logistics across remote areas, and ensuring participants receive the training are ways Franklin channels that understanding into action. He helps youths overcome barriers and turn opportunities into real outcomes.
He collaborates with organisations such as Institut Kemahiran MARA (IKM) Bintulu and TMR Technologies Sdn Bhd to deliver technical training in areas including scaffolding and mechanical fitting.
Since the inception of ReCP in 2024, Franklin and his team have brought short, intensive training to youths from Lawas, Ulu Limbang, Baram, Tinjar, Niah, and Bintulu, equipping them over one to two months with practical skills for employment.
The results are tangible. In 2024, 33 youths were successfully placed into jobs. In 2025, another 40 followed.
These youths are now certified and working with companies such as Crocker Engineering Sdn Bhd, Bina Harta Enterprise, Preveld Oil & Gas, Rahabco Engineering & Construction Bhd, Bintulu Scaffolding Sdn Bhd, and JL Expert Scaffolding.
Behind every number is a story of determination. One story stays with him.
“He was one of our registered youths in 2024. He woke up at 6am and rode his motorcycle along logging roads to join our training in Long Lama. Along the way, he punctured his tyre, but he managed to replace it and continued his journey.
“Then the motorcycle chain broke, and he was stranded in the middle of the jungle. He didn’t make it that day. The next year, we provided transport for him, and he completed his training. Now, he has a job at the Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu,” Franklin recalled.
For Franklin, stories like this give meaning to his work. The impact is tangible, visible, and life changing. He understands what it means to be given a chance and perhaps he sees a reflection of his own journey in these youths.
*Why Franklin Matters*
Franklin’s contribution stretches beyond mere organisational skills. It is rooted in trust. To the communities he serves, he not only speaks their language, but understands their values, hesitations and hopes.
He knows that families in rural areas carefully weigh distance, separation, and the risk of failure, especially when there is no safety net. Those insights come from his own experiences growing up in a remote Penan village.
Enduring long journeys to school and struggling to fit in as one of only a handful of Penan students at SMK Temenggong Datuk Lawai Jau, a school of nearly 600, Franklin often felt that going home might have been the safer choice.
What kept him in school was practical support. The school principal, Cikgu Mering Jok Eng, offered Franklin a place to stay, sharing meals and study space, giving him stability when it mattered most.
That early care inspires how he supports young people now. When parents hesitate, he provides practical help to their children, much as Cikgu Mering once did.
“If not for Cikgu Mering back then, I think I would have dropped out of school,” Franklin said. “I would have stopped right there.”
*Returning To His Roots*
Franklin’s step into higher education was guided by Ezra Uda, one of the first Penans to graduate from university and an inspiration to many Penan youths.
When Ezra visited SMK Marudi with the People’s Association for Development and Education of Penan Sarawak (PADE) to give a career talk, Franklin entrusted his university registration to him. Ezra enrolled Franklin at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) to study Social Sciences.
The path later led Franklin to the Institute of Social Informatics and Technological Innovations (ISITI) where he found himself returning to familiar ground, working on research projects in rural areas across Malaysia, including his home grounds in Ulu Baram.
With the skills he acquired through his studies, Franklin began documenting Penan knowledge such as “Oroo” sign language, traditional herbs, and elders’ stories so that they would not be lost in time. His work eventually recorded 53 traditional herbs across Long Kerong, Long Sait, and Long Speigen.
Even after university, Franklin continued his research while his career path remained uncertain. Until John Fery stepped in.
John, believed to be the first Penan to work at PETRONAS, encouraged Franklin to apply. Franklin hesitated at first; PETRONAS felt unattainable. John persisted, guiding him through the process just as Ezra once had.
During the job interview, Franklin spoke about home and his deep ties to local communities. He spoke honestly and did not try to impress, but he did.
*One Path Among Many*
Four years into his role at PETRONAS, Franklin works closely with communities and partners, building trust and creating opportunities that align with the company’s goals. A mission shaped by the care and guidance he received as a young indigenous Penan boy. Those early experiences help define how he approaches his work today.
Through PETRONAS, he has learned how to take an opportunity and turn it into real impact, organising, sustaining, and expanding the kind of support he once received so that more youths could benefit.
Today, he stands in longhouses sharing possibilities with young people whose parents are afraid to let them go. Like Cikgu Mering, Ezra Uda, and John Fery before him, Franklin George carries that responsibility forward, helping youths find pathways that might otherwise have been out of reach.
