KUALA LUMPUR: Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal is maintaining his call for the government to cancel the sale of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) shares to a company affiliated with BlackRock.

He said his stance remained as he felt that the corporate exercise did not have any merit to be pursued further, especially since there had not been any clear details of the rationale behind having Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) as MAHB shareholders.

BlackRock, an American asset management company with Pro-Israeli links, had recently acquired GIP.

"Our contention is specifically on the selling of MAHB's strategic stakes amounting to 30 per cent to GIP-BlackRock.

"If Norwegian pension fund KLP can divest their shares from Caterpillar, who, like BlackRock, was listed as a genocide enabler in Gaza, the same must be done with BlackRock in this MAHB deal.

"It's not just a moral argument, but also a commercial and technical one that we are contesting... there is no merit (to the sale of shares) whatsoever," he told the New Straits Times.

Wan Fayhsal added that if MAHB needed the expertise in technical matters to improve operations, the company could rely on local expertise or appoint relevant consultants with premium pay instead of selling shares to GIP and BlackRock.

Earlier today, Investment, Trade and Industries Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said any withdrawal of investments by BlackRock from Malaysia would bring about negative implications and effects in the effort to achieve the country's investment agenda.

He told the Dewan Rakyat that as of last month, BlackRock had equity investments in 100 listed companies in Malaysia across various industrial sectors, with the three largest entities being banking institutions.

Wan Fayhsal, in response, said Tengku Zafrul's explanations were not related to the opposition's concerns.

The Machang member of parliament said BlackRock's investments in Malaysian government-linked companies (GLCs) or other local companies were done publicly, via the stock market, and said they had only a minimal percentage of shares.

"The most BlackRock had invested in our GLCs or local companies amounted to only three per cent of their shares, which would not allow them to have a say in the board of the companies.

"In this sense, BlackRock does not have a say in the operations and access to the confidentiality of the companies' data, neither will they pose serious security issues to the country.

"In the issue of MAHB, it involves our strategic assets which are our airports. So our contention is, to me, fair, and warrants a deeper discussion and disclosure from the government," he added.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/06/1069206/wan-fayhsal-stands-call-cancel-sale-mahb-shares-blackrock-linked-company