KUALA LUMPUR: Transport Minister Anthony Loke said he has no qualms if the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) investigates the sale of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) shares to a company linked to BlackRock.
He said that the ministry, through the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom), is only focused on regulating competition in the industry.
"If the PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudi wants, she may call for a meeting any time to review the deal's details.
"Mavcom only looks into industry dealings from a regulatory perspective ... (and) has no say in its equity distribution.
"Eventhough Mavcom is under the ministry's purview, I am not directly involved in its decision making as meetings are attended by its own board members, and the decisions they make are independent and objective based on their mandate to regulate the industry," Loke told Parliament during his ministry's winding down speech of Budget 2025 on Wednesday (Nov 6).
Loke was responding to concerns raised by Mohd Radzi Md Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) over the sale of MAHB's shares to a foreign company, with the latter demanding why MAHB shares could not have been sold to local investors.
This comes after Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), along with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, planned to buy a 30% stake in MAHB's privatisation move.
The deal was criticised by Opposition politicians after it emerged that GIP is in talks to be sold to BlackRock, a firm that is reported to have investments in Israel.
