KUALA LUMPUR – Pressure against BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners’s (GIP) equity in Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is mounting from within the ruling coalition, in particular from Umno Youth which has called for a stop to the sale.
Wing chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said the Youth leadership has agreed that Putrajaya should halt the sale even though GIP will only hold 30% of MAHB shares.
“Umno Youth strongly opposes the sale of MAHB shares to BlackRock via GIP. Even though the holdings will only be 30%, it goes against Malaysia’s support for Palestine.
“It will also expose the country’s important assets to those who sympathise with the Zionist agenda,” Akmal told reporters after chairing the Umno Youth Executive Council meeting at Menara Dato Onn, here, today.
“The reality is, GIP is owned by BlackRock. In the end, GIP’s profits will benefit BlackRock.”
Akmal also questioned why Malaysia’s vocal stance against Israel on the international stage was not reflected in decisions made at home.
“We should show solidarity not just on the global stage. We should also prove it in our own country.
“We therefore ask that the sale of 30% to this company owned by BlackRock be stopped immediately
The matter was not “just an Islamic issue, but a humanitarian one,” added Akmal, who is also Merlimau assemblyman and a Melaka exco.
The move to take MAHB private was announced on May 15. It will see a consortium, the Gateway Development Alliance, acquiring all shares it does not already own, at an offer price of RM11 per share amounting to an equity value of RM18.4 billion.
The consortium is led by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, via its wholly owned subsidiary UEM Group Bhd, and the Employees Provident Fund, while GIP and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) are consortium shareholders.
GIP and Adia together will hold 30% of MAHB shares.
Today, GIP said BlackRock had not in any way been involved in the MAHB deal.
Its head of transport Philip Iley, who is also a GDA consortium director, said BlackRock’s acquisition of GIP was announced in January and will only be completed in the third quarter of this year.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also said Malaysia could not afford to stop its dealings with every Israeli-linked company operating in other countries as this would affect the national economy. – June 21, 2024