PN plans anti-BlackRock rallies as govt ignores protest from anti-Israel groups

Perikatan Nasional (PN) has vowed to step up opposition to the government's plan to involve a company owned by controversial US fund manager BlackRock in a consortium to operate airports nationwide, as an activist's hunger strike enters its sixth day.

Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said the coalition would hold rallies in support of Mythreyar Mutturamalinggam, who has been camping outside Parliament building since last week to highlight opposition to the government's plan to sell shares in Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB) to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

"If the government does not listen to our voice, Mike (Mythreyar) will not hesitate to take to the streets with us.

"We will rally thousands of Malaysians to voice their opposition to the government which has turned a deaf ear," he told reporters in Parliament today.

Mythreyar, 46, began his hunger strike outside Parliament building last Wednesday and moves to Dataran Merdeka on days when the Dewan Rakyat is not in session.

He said he wanted to educate the public about the issue and call on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to cancel the agreement with GIP.

Since the start of the hunger strike, Mythreyar has received a stream of well wishers from the public and opposition MPs.

The hunger strike was originally planned to last three days, but he told MalaysiaNow today that he intends to end it on Thursday, adding that he would wait for his doctor's advice.

Fayhsal questioned government MPs for not showing solidarity with Mythreyar, adding that the activist's efforts have received support from Palestinians in Gaza.

"I would like to thank Mythreyar from Malaysia. Thank you for standing with us and doing your best," reads a poster shown by Palestinian children in a TikTok video.

The BlackRock issue has emerged as one of Anwar's greatest challenges since his appointment to the top post,and comes against a backdrop of a perception that he is more friendly with the US and Israel, with critics citing past statements including his interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2012 which quoted him as saying that he would "support all efforts to protect the security of the state of Israel".

Anwar has so far rejected protests from civil society leaders and pro-Palestinian groups against the deal in view of allegations of BlackRock's complicity in Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza, which has so far killed at least 35,000 people.

The plan would see BlackRock-owned GIP take a 30% stake in MAHB, alongside the government's investment arm Khazanah Nasional and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), both entities under the jurisdiction of the finance ministry led by him.

Meanwhile, Sik MP Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman said Mythreyar's demand was in line with last month's statement by a United Nations panel of experts, which named BlackRock alongside dozens of companies, arms manufacturers and financial institutions to warn them against any involvement in arms transfers to Israel.

“These companies, by sending weapons, parts, components, and ammunition to Israeli forces, risk being complicit in serious violations of international human rights and international humanitarian laws,” reads a statement on June 20 by more than 30 experts and special rapporteurs led by Robert McCorquodale, a member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.