Putrajaya seeks 6-month suspension of MP leading the charge against controversial MAHB deal

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said has filed an urgent motion calling for the suspension of Perikatan Nasional MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who has been at the forefront of protests in the Dewan Rakyat against the plan to involve a company owned by controversial US fund manager BlackRock in the running of the country's airports.

In a letter to speaker Johari Abdul, Azalina cited the Machang MP's speech on July 1, in which he referred to a viral post claiming that an Employees Provident Fund (EPF) official had actively pushed for the deal with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

"Many EPF employees are afraid to speak up. They don’t want to be part of this Madani deal where MAHB shares are to be sold to GIP-BlackRock," Wan Fayhsal had said.

Azalina said Wan Fayhsal had slandered an EPF officer by repeating an allegation from the "poison-pen letter" that he was despised by his staff.

"The Machang MP's allegations are an attack on the dignity of the staff of the agency under the ministry who have worked tirelessly to help the administration develop Malaysia.

"(He) has made serious allegations and accusations and acted in a manner that can spark ill-feelings towards the authority of the government," she said.

Under the recently announced plan, BlackRock's GIP will take a 30% stake in a consortium to manage MAHB, alongside the government's investment arm Khazanah Nasional and EPF, both entities under the jurisdiction of the finance ministry led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

It sparked protests due to BlackRock's well-documented role in strengthening the Israeli economy and its extensive investments in the US arms industry.

Critics also argued that there is no justification to involve a foreign partner in MAHB when the company is already profitable and made a net profit of over half a billion ringgit last year.

Anwar has repeatedly defended the decision to sell MAHB shares to GIP, saying the government could not cut ties with companies that have relations with Israel, adding that such a move would also "affect the country's economy".

He also claimed that Hamas leaders had no problem with Malaysia doing business with pro-Israel companies.

On the same day he made the remarks, Hamas released a statement calling on Muslim countries and Palestinian sympathisers to continue boycotting the Israeli state and its supporters. It added that a global campaign had so far achieved "significant accomplishments in undermining the entity's economy, isolating it, and delegitimising it".