Singapore knew, Johor crown prince didn’t? Surprising, says Malaysia’s Mahathir as he defends port venture backed by Li Ka-shing
- Malaysian prime minister denies not consulting Johor government on plan to build world’s largest ship-to-ship transfer hub in port of Johor Bahru
- Comments appear to put him at odds with crown prince of Johor
Mahathir shot down claims, repeated on the crown prince’s Facebook page, that federal leaders had “bulldozed through” the project without consulting the Johor government.
Mahathir was responding to a social media post written by the group Gerakan Muafakat Johor (Johor Consensus Movement) that claimed the venture had received special treatment because it was linked to the “cronies” of federal leaders. The post also claimed the administration had cut out local businessmen in favour of its own people.
Mahathir denied any “bulldozing” and said he was “surprised” the crown prince didn’t know about the project.
“He is in Johor, other people in Johor know about it but he doesn’t know. He knows many things but this he doesn’t know,” said Mahathir, who has long had a fractious relationship with the Johor royal family, both during his first stint as prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and since returning to power last May.
In a Facebook post later that evening, the crown prince accused Mahathir of acting unconstitutionally.
“... with regards to the project in Johor waters. Tuanku Sultan Johor and myself are not aware of the project. The Menteri Besar is also not aware based on the attached voice recording. The state government including the Land and Mines office is also unaware. Whoever who says that Johor is aware is lying,” he said on Facebook, attaching a recording of what seems to be a reporter asking the chief minister about the project, with the leader replying he found out via social media
All Malaysians are my cronies. That’s why I work for all of them, including the people of Johor
Mahathir also dismissed the claims of favouring cronies, saying that as prime minister “all Malaysians are my cronies. That’s why I work for all of them, including the people of Johor”.
He was speaking at a signing ceremony between Hutchison, which is controlled by the family of Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing, and KA Petra. Also present at the ceremony were Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution.
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According to KA Petra, between US$150 million and US$180 million will be invested in the hub, construction on which is expected to be completed by 2021. KA Petra’s aim is to capitalise on the natural chokepoint in the Strait of Malacca, through which oil from the Middle East and Europe is transported.
“There were problems we had when Singapore said that we are encroaching. We are not encroaching, we are in our waters and I think this is public knowledge, so if people don’t know, well, I don’t have to go around telling people one by one, ‘you know or not’,” Mahathir added.
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Hutchison Ports group managing director Eric Ip said the project would have a positive impact on the maritime sector across the region. “Given our global port network, we are confident of introducing the many benefits offered in this [hub] to our global shipping lines customers,” he said.
KA Petra has said the hub will have the capacity to store over nine million metric tons of petroleum products.
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KA Petra, which is 100 per cent owned by Bumiputra – the term for ethnic Malays or indigenous people, projects the hub will contribute as much as 18 billion ringgit (US$4.4 billion) to Malaysian GDP annually.
Analyst Abhishek Dangra, of S&P Global Ratings, said various factors affected the viability of ship to ship operations, including the weather, the need to keep costs competitive, and the type of cargo in question.
“Operators, like Hutchison, tend to partner with infrastructure providers – like port terminals – to remain competitive. Ship to ship transfer operations can create additional infrastructure for shipping petroleum products, but this capability is unlikely to dent port traffic or disrupt transshipment traffic in the near future.”
