Don't enable Blackrock's complicity in atrocities, PM urged

A group of civil society organisations has called for a halt to the sale of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) shares to a company that will soon be owned by Blackrock.

Their appeal to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim comes in light of Blackrock being identified as complicit in the ongoing human rights violations in Gaza.

“The prime minister and the government’s stance and actions on Palestine have thus far been commendable.

“To remain consistent, it is imperative that Malaysia does not allow entities complicit in atrocities being committed in Palestine a foothold in our nation.

“We urge the prime minister to make the right and conscionable decision and say ‘no’ to Blackrock and uphold Malaysia’s commitment to human rights and ethical governance,” the groups said in a statement today.

Among the 21 signatories of the statement were BDS Malaysia, Centhra Malaysia, Viva Palestina Malaysia, and Ikram.

Anwar on Friday indicated that the government would not stop Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) from buying MAHB shares. He said talks with GIP had been initiated before Blackrock announced plans to buy out the former.

He also mentioned that cutting off ties with all Israel-linked companies would hurt the economy, adding that Blackrock already has various interests in Malaysia.

Pressure genocide enablers

In their statement, the civil society groups highlighted that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in a statement dated June 20, explicitly named Blackrock as a financial institution investing in arms manufacturers supplying weapons to Israel.

They emphasised that Malaysia as a UN member should take heed of the body’s call to pressure parties complicit in or enabling war crimes and genocide in Gaza.

This means refusing to engage with entities like Blackrock to disrupt systems enabling such crimes, they said.

“To halt this atrocity, those opposing genocide must act collectively to disrupt the systems enabling such crimes against humanity.

“This means refusing to engage or collaborate with entities complicit in these actions,” they said.

GIP is part of a consortium led by Khazanah Nasional that is planning to buy out all remaining shares in MAHB not already owned by Khazanah and the Employees Provident Fund.

If the deal goes through, GIP will own an effective 25 percent stake in MAHB.

GIP said on Friday that Blackrock would not be involved in MAHB as the GIP leadership would still have full control of the company.

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