The government should respond now to claims of a stake in Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) being sold to a company with an Israeli-link, says Ong Kian Ming.
The former Bangi MP called for the government, Khazanah Nasional Bhd and EPF to hold a press conference to explain the deal, and not wait until the next parliamentary sitting.
“When the Parliament session comes next month, (eventually) they will have to answer these questions.
“Instead of waiting until then and letting the opposition control the narrative, why not take the bull by its horns and have a public engagement through a press conference,” Ong said in the latest episode of his podcast “Are We OK?”
Last week, Khazanah and EPF said they planned to take over MAHB through a consortium and privatise the airport operator.
Khazanah will increase its ownership in MAHB from 33.2% to 40% and EPF from 7.9% to 30%, giving Malaysian investors a 70% stake in MAHB.
The remaining 30% will be held by two parties – Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a subsidiary of the American company BlackRock, reported as the world’s biggest asset manager with huge investments directly in Israel.
Meanwhile, activist Chua Tian Chang, who led a memorandum protesting the Israeli link in the proposed takeover of MAHB on Thursday, has warned of foreign monopoly resulting from the deal.
The former PKR vice-president known as Tian Chua urged Transport Minister Anthony Lok to explain to the public the potential advantages of the deal, after the latter told protesters that the ministry is not responsible for the proposal.
“We’re told that the entire aim of selling MAHB is to boost competitiveness as MAHB lacked competitiveness however MAHB’s inherent lack of competitiveness is also rooted in its design as a monopoly,” Chua told Malay Mail.
Tian Chua, the spokesman for Palestine Solidarity Secretariat (SSP), had along with Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal led the protest in front of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) office in Putrajaya to hand over a memorandum opposing the proposed takeover of MAHB.
“No other company is permitted to manage our airports. Merely transferring control to another entity or wholesaling it does not alter this reality. Although it might seem like fostering competition, it remains a monopoly unless airports are divided among different operators to gauge performance.”
He highlighted the original rationale behind MAHB’s establishment as a monopoly was to facilitate government oversight and maintain affordable prices for the populace.
“Previously, the monopoly was justifiable as MAHB was wholly government-owned, ensuring full control over pricing and costs to shield consumers from undue burdens. However, with privatisation, how do we prevent the monopoly from imposing hardships on the public?” he asked.
Chua, the spokesman for Palestine Solidarity Secretariat (SSP), had along with Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal led the protest in front of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) office in Putrajaya to hand over a memorandum opposing the proposed takeover of MAHB.
Loke in response said the group should instead direct its grievance to Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) over the matter since the ministry is a regulator and has no control over MAHB’s choice to cooperate with any joint venture.
Chua said this was concerning since as minister any sale should come under his jurisdiction as the custodian of the transport ministry and admitting he had no role in it was worrying.
“MoT saying they have no say no knowledge about it is not a healthy sign, I hope MoT takes more initiative to know what’s going on and he shouldn’t be so passive and allow things to happen without his knowledge,” Chua added, referring to Loke.
When asked about Loke’s response which was directed to him, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal accused the minister of attempting to divert attention away from him.
“Anwar handles the divestment part but Loke is the regulator, part of the Cabinet, so there is collective responsibility hence surely he knows about it,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s role in the proposal.
“Before Khazanah sells the shares they must discuss it with Loke because they’re trying to sell to improve the airport’s operations so he must be in the loop. It’s irresponsible to say otherwise. Perhaps he could explain the rationale behind the 30 per cent stake to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)?
“For now, we ask that they withdraw the sale as there’s no strong rationale to sell. MAHB is doing well. Why do we need GIP, one of the worst airport operators to manage us? There’s no economic merit for this,” he added.
Earlier this month, Anwar issued a stern response to claims that a pro-Zionist fund would own a stake in MAHB if the privatisation bid goes through, calling it a “baseless” allegation aimed at inciting anger towards his government.