Wan Ahmad Fayshal could face six-month suspension from Dewan Rakyat

KUALA LUMPUR: Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayshal Wan Ahmad Kamal could face a six-month suspension from the Dewan Rakyat.

This comes after the Perikatan Nasional lawmaker allegedly tarnished the reputation of several individuals when referencing a poison pen letter during debates in Parliament.

The letter alleged that an Employees Provident Fund (EPF) was active in pushing for the Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) privatisation move.

The motion will be filed by the Prime Minister’s Department and is expected to be tabled at about 11.30am in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (July 18).

It was listed as part of the Order Paper for Thursday’s Dewan Rakyat proceedings.

Wan Ahmad Fayshal referenced the letter when debating the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) 2021 report on July 1.

The letter allegedly revealed the “mastermind” behind the privatisation of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) as an Employees Provident Fund (EPF) employee, alongside the individual’s supposed ill-treatment of colleagues.

“Machang raised a poison pen letter whose author and contents are unverified.

“This has tarnished the reputation of the alleged individual and also ministry officers through such baseless allegations,” read the motion.

It is learnt that the Machang MP is set to hold a press conference tomorrow.

Wan Ahmad Fayshal has been vocal over the MAHB privatisation following talks of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) along with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, planning to buy a 30% stake in MAHB’s privatisation move.

The remaining 70% will be owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd and EPF.

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, with Malaysia strongly supporting Palestine.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.

GIP had also issued an official statement that BlackRock would not be involved in the management of airports under MAHB.

Earlier this year, Tasek Gelugor MP Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan also faced a six-month suspension for making baseless allegations of corruption against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Parliament.

The Perikatan lawmaker was however spared after he issued an apology in the lower House.

Wan Saiful also apologised to His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, over his remarks.