KUALA LUMPUR – PKR vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has dared the Perikatan Nasional (PN) governments in Kedah and Kelantan to close down all factories linked to BlackRock Inc in their states.
Speaking at a ceramah in Sg Kechil, Penang, last night, he said they should focus on this rather than the American investment firm’s ownership of a subsidiary involved in Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) privatisation exercise.
“All these fuss about Blackrock… Sometimes, they (PN) leaders don’t understand what they’re talking about.
“BlackRock has also opened plenty of factories in Kelantan and Kedah.
“So I wanted to challenge PN leaders, if they asked us (the government) to stop dealing with BlackRock, then they, too, should close down these factories immediately. Let the workers lose their jobs. And then we’ll talk,” he said.
Nik Nazmi, who is also natural resources and environmental sustainability minister, said the New York-based investment firm accused of aiding Israel’s genocide of Palestinians has had holdings in the Malaysian stock market since before Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s government was formed in November 2022.
“BlackRock has been in the country since their (PN’s) time as the government. You didn’t see this matter made into polemics then.
“But now, they’re using this as ammunition since it is close to (the Sg Bakap) by-election,” he added.
PN politicians have been criticising Anwar’s government over the MAHB privatisation deal, announced on May 15, that will see 30% of the airport operator’s equity jointly owned by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
BlackRock acquired GIP earlier this year and the transaction is to be fully completed sometime this year. GIP’s head of transport, Philip Iley, said recently that the time timeline meant BlackRock was not involved in transactions relating to MAHB’s privatisation.
The privatisation will still see Malaysian entities Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund hold majority stakes and lead the consortium that will own MAHB.
The deal is the subject of motions PN lawmaker Wan Ahmad Fahysal Wan Ahmad Kamal has submitted to the Dewan Rakyat speaker for debate in the parliamentary sitting that began today. – June 24, 2024