KUALA LUMPUR – The Dewan Rakyat may suspend Bersatu MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal for six months today.
This possibility is based on his allegation of a letter containing information about a mastermind behind the privatisation of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).
Based on the Parliament order paper for the Dewan Rakyat today, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department is expected to table a motion against the Machang MP.
According to the order paper, Wan Fayhsal’s reference to the letter caused harm not only to the individual or alleged mastermind but also to government officers who might suffer from the baseless allegations.
“There shall be no mention of the conduct or character of government officers in debates by MPs, except in relation to their official duties.
“The allegations made by Machang (Wan Fayhsal) undermine the dignity of ministry officials who have diligently assisted the administrative members in developing Malaysia,” it said.
It was reported that Wan Fayshal made a reference to the poison pen letter when debating the annual report of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia for 2021 and 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat earlier this month.
He had also named an Employee Provident Fund employee with a high-ranking position for allegedly being involved in MAHB’s privatisation.
Meanwhile, Wan Fayhsal said in a statement that he would hold a press conference to address the issue today.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had previously clarified in the Dewan Rakyat that Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) had agreed with conditions set by Khazanah Malaysia Bhd relating to MAHB’s restructuring exercise.
He said GIP, which is set to be acquired by US investment fund manager BlackRock Inc, was chosen for the proposed deal based on its willingness to comply with the national sovereign wealth fund’s stringent criteria.
Anwar said Khazanah had been informed that, while 145 companies had initially applied to be involved in the consortium to manage MAHB, only five had fulfilled the requirements.
BlackRock now has equity in over 100 listed companies in Malaysia in the industrial sector, as well as in three Malaysian banking institutions.
Overall, the company has assets of about RM27.5 billion in Malaysia, including RM20.5 billion in Bursa Malaysia and RM7 billion in government bonds and corporate companies.
Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz was also reported as explaining that the Malaysian government had no direct business with BlackRock, saying that the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry only dealt with the companies that BlackRock had invested in. – July 18, 2024