'Govt hollow and insincere if it continues with MAHB privatisation involving BlackRock' - BDS Malaysia chairman
SHAH ALAM - Malaysia should not deal with companies known for supporting genocide, says Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Malaysia chairman.
Professor Dr Mohd Nazari Ismail said in the past, the Malaysian government would block Israeli companies from entering the country, even stopping their shipments.
However, when it came to investors, Malaysia has not brought attention to the issue.
He said this in light of the government's decision to bring in Unites States-owned investment giant BlackRock as part of a consortium to manage airports in Malaysia.
"It is difficult to determine whether Malaysia will continue with the deal or not, but BlackRock has been proven to be complicit in genocide.
"They are owners of significant shares in weapons' manufacturing and they support Israeli firms by providing funds.
"BlackRock CEO (Larry Fink) is a strong supporter of Israel and has shown vocal support.
"Malaysia should not deal with a company that strongly supports Israel and the main issue is not on whether they (Malaysian government) get more control over the Malaysian economy by continuing with the deal or not, but this is an issue of the company being pro-Israel," he said.
Nazari said the government could not support Palestine while also working hand in hand with parties that support genocide.
He said if the government continued with the deal, then its policy of supporting the Palestinian struggle would appear to be hollow and insincere.
"I expect Malaysians to be unhappy about this and continue to be critical of the government.
"If the government wants foreign investment, there are many other foreign companies willing to invest," he said.
He said BDS Malaysia has carried out campaigns, highlighting the issue to the public and initiated a petition, calling for the government to cancel its plans on the deal.
He added that so far, the public has been very supportive of its cause.
On May 15, Gateway Development Alliance (GDA) and its shareholders announced a pre-conditional voluntary offer to acquire all the shares in Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) not already owned by the Consortium, at an offer price of RM11.00 per share which is an equivalent of RM18.4 billion.
According to a Bursa Malaysia filing, the Consortium is led by Khazanah Nasional Bhd (Khazanah) via its wholly owned subsidiary UEM Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
Its shareholders also comprise a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) and funds managed by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
The offer valued MAHB at RM18.4 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.7x for FY 2023.
As of May 14, the Consortium and its parent companies in aggregate own 41.1 per cent of MAHB’s issued share capital.
Upon completion of the offer, Khazanah's stake in MAHB will rise from 33.2 per cent to 40 per cent and EPF from 7.9 per cent to 30 per cent.
It was reported that Malaysian investors will collectively own 70 per cent of MAHB, while Adia and GIP will hold the remaining 30 per cent.
Involving GIP has sparked political controversy where BlackRock, the largest international asset management company, perceived as pro-Israel, has been showing interest in acquiring the infrastructure investment company, which implied that it might potentially have future indirect influence on MAHB as well.
BlackRock is also known to have investments in a wide array of assets, including tech giants like Apple, Facebook and Google, all of which were pro-Israel companies.
