[UPDATED] Stop being ‘more Hamas than Hamas’, Anwar tells BlackRock critics

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia conducting business with Israeli-linked firms was never discussed during meetings with Hamas leaders, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Tambun-PH) told the Dewan Rakyat today.

Reaffirming that Malaysia’s decision is to not hold business ties with Israel-owned companies, Anwar said while snubbing deals with Israeli-linked entities might receive the nod of approval from certain quarters, such calls are problematic and “unrealistic”.

“Our decision is (against dealing with) Israeli companies. Companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia have Israeli interest, (but) should we cancel (deals with them)? It sounds nice and people who hear it feel good as (they think) we’re fighting, but it’s not realistic.

“I held discussions with Hamas (leaders) and (the matter) was never even addressed. This is being more Hamas than Hamas, that’s our problem,” he said in Parliament today.

The prime minister was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Indera Mohd Shahar Abdullah (Paya Besar-BN) regarding Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) restructuring exercise, which proposes the involvement of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

GIP is set to be acquired by New York-based BlackRock Inc, which also holds shares in weapons companies supplying arms to Israel.

In May, Anwar had met with Hamas officials, including leader Ismail Haniyeh and former chairman Khaled Mashal, to discuss, among others, a peaceful solution to the war on Gaza.

Under the proposed move to take MAHB private, GIP alongside the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) will own 30% of MAHB’s shares through a consortium led by national sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd via its wholly owned subsidiary UEM Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). 

While GIP and Adia are consortium shareholders, the remaining 70% of shares in MAHB will be held by Khazanah and EPF, which will also have a golden share allowing it to determine MAHB’s chief executive officer and chairman. 

The consortium had announced a pre-conditional voluntary offer to acquire all the shares in MAHB not already owned at an offer price of RM11 per share. 

Last week, Anwar said Putrajaya was not in the position to stop every foreign Israel-linked company from doing business with Malaysia as such a policy would be detrimental to the country’s economy. 

Meanwhile, replying to Indera’s query on why the cabinet was not informed of Khazanah’s dealings with GIP, Anwar pointed out that such investment matters are not under cabinet’s purview. 

“All investments (by) Permodalan Nasional Bhd, EPF and Khazanah are not cabinet matters, nor have they ever been. I looked at minutes of previous cabinet meetings, and such investment decisions were never referred to the cabinet, even when the now-opposition was in government. 

“However, in this case (relating to MAHB), I informed the cabinet when a decision (regarding involving GIP) was made.”

Previously, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (Rembau-BN) told reporters that the proposed deal was not a cabinet decision, adding that Umno cabinet members had pleaded against selling MAHB’s shares to GIP. 

Anwar said the issue of MAHB’s shares being sold does not arise as the government’s stake – through Khazanah and EPF – will increase from 41% to 70%, asserting that the move is not a “privatisation” exercise as the entities are taking over existing shares. – June 25, 2024