KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu’s Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal was at the “wrong door” to submit a memorandum and protest against the privatisation of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) by a consortium that includes a global firm that supports Israel.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the opposition MP and Sekretariat Solidariti Palestin (SSP) should take their grievances to sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd, as the matter is not under his ministry’s purview.
He added that Khazanah will be the largest shareholder in MAHB when the privatisation exercise is completed.
The demonstration, which began at 11am outside the ministry in Putrajaya, also brought together former pro-Pakatan Harapan figures such as ex Batu MP Chua Tian Chang and PKR activist Hishammuddin Rais.
“I have said this many times and I am annoyed now. The lawmaker (Wan Fayhsal) also does not understand. The ministry has nothing to do with the decision and we are just the regulator here. The Transport Ministry doesn’t have any MAHB shares.
“It is up to the operator to decide who they want to collaborate with, so I advise him (Wan Fayhsal to look for the correct address next time,” he told reporters after an event here.
Wan Fayhsal recently filed a notice of motion to the Dewan Rakyat secretary to refer Loke to Parliament’s rights and privileges committee for allegedly misleading the house over the sale of MAHB’s shares.
In the Dewan Rakyat last March, Loke refuted Wan Fayhsal’s claims that Khazanah and EPF were in business with an Israel-linked firm.
More recently, Loke ticked off Wan Fayhsal for continuing to spread misinformation about MAHB’s privatisation.
On May 15, the Gateway Development Alliance consortium, which includes Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) as one of its shareholders, announced a pre-conditional voluntary offer to acquire all shares in MAHB not already owned by the consortium at an offer price of RM11 per share.
Although Khazanah and EPF will still hold the bulk of MAHB shares at 70%, with GIP and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) together holding the remaining 30%, Wan Fayhsal has taken issue with GIP’s involvement because it is owned by the New York-based investment firm BlackRock Inc, which owns shares in weapons companies supplying arms to Israel. – May 23, 2024