Letters | In Malaysia’s airport deal, legally separate does not mean morally separate

Readers discuss the opposition in Malaysia to the government’s airport deal, China’s cautious attitude towards Russia’s pipeline project, the location of HKU’s new innovation centre, and potential water wastage in Wong Nai Chung

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A woman wearing a hat with a Palestinian scarf attends a protest against arms manufacturers supplying weapons to Israel, outside the venue of a defence services expo in Kuala Lumpur on May 7. Malaysia has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause since the war in Gaza erupted last October. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 11:30am, 31 May 2024

I refer to the article, “Malaysia’s Anwar under pressure to ditch airport deal with BlackRock entity over Israel arms links” (May 24).

Malaysia’s government is under pressure to drop an entity owned by American investment giant BlackRock from a plan to take the country’s largest airport operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), private.

Gateway Development Alliance (GDA) is the consortium of three entities – Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the Employees Provident Fund and GIP Aurea – that is making a pre-conditional voluntary offer to acquire all shares in MAHB not already owned by the consortium.

GIP Aurea is a joint venture between Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. And from the third quarter of this year, GIP will effectively be owned by BlackRock, which has stakes in arms manufacturers supplying Israel, now engaged in a war in Gaza.

Should the airport deal be concluded, GIP will hold a 25 per cent stake in MAHB. Anwar, a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, said claims that 25 per cent of MAHB would be owned by a pro-Zionist company are baseless.

GDA is a joint venture. Joint ventures are strategic alliances formed to pool resources, capital or knowledge. In Malaysia, parties to a joint venture may form a legal entity commonly referred to as a special purpose vehicle, which could be a company incorporated under the Companies Act 2016.