MP: MAHB takeover undermines Anwar's credibility as Palestine champion

The planned acquisition of Malaysia Airport Berhad (MAHB) by a consortium with zionist links will undermine the prime minister and Malaysia's standing as champions of Palestine, an opposition lawmaker has argued.

Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal also dismissed Anwar Ibrahim’s accusation that critics of the MAHB takeover were trying to incite hatred.

"We are not trying to incite as Anwar said. We want to safeguard the honour of our country, of Anwar himself, as renowned champions of Palestine.

"Just because of one or two things done by those who should not have done it, in the end, Anwar and Malaysia will be deemed as hypocrites," he said in a video posted on social media today.

On May 15, Gateway Development Alliance and its shareholders announced a pre-conditional voluntary offer to acquire all the shares in MAHB not yet owned by the consortium at an offer price of RM11 a share.

The consortium is led by two government-linked investment companies - Khazanah via its wholly-owned unit UEM Group Bhd and Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

The consortium’s shareholders also comprise a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) through GIP Aurea Pte Ltd.

If the deal is completed, Khazanah and EPF will end up controlling 70 percent of MAHB, while GIP Aurea will hold another 30 percent.

As GIP owns 83.3 percent of GIP Aurea, its effective stake in MAHB would be 25 percent, according to The Edge.

GIP is wholly owned by Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager - which has close ties with Israel and invests heavily in weapons manufacturers that provide arms to the zionist regime.

Anwar had dismissed the report that 25 percent of MAHB would be owned by a pro-zionist company as baseless, but did not provide a reason for this being false besides accusing the opposition of incitement.

Is DAP behind this?

Wan Fayhsal also questioned why Anwar was reversing a purported decision by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2019 stopping Khazanah from selling its MAHB shares to Blackrock.

"Was it due to pressure from DAP?" he said, alleging that the party had in the past urged for MAHB to be privatised.

Wan Fayhsal also took issue with Transport Minister Anthony Loke's reasoning that the government - through Khazanah and EPF - would hold more shares in MAHB through the takeover.

"That's not the issue, Loke.

"The issue is why are you selling shares to Blackrock which owns GIP, that manages some of the worst airports in the world," the Perikatan Nasional deputy youth chief said.

He was referring to the GIP-managed Sydney Airport in Australia and the Gatwick Airport in London, ranked among the worst airports in the world.

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