Syed Mokhtar like a king, says senior Umno MP

A senior Umno backbencher accused the Najib administration today of favouring Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary in government procurement, saying the logistics tycoon is “like a king.”

Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (picture) told Parliament this when criticising the selection of Syed Mokhtar’s Seaport Terminal to take the finance ministry-owned Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) private, saying it was “unsuitable in current conditions.”

“Syed Mokhtar is like a king with so many banks backing him,” the Barisan Nasional (BN) backbenchers deputy chief said when debating the supplementary supply bill, referring to the former’s empire which has a reported total debt of RM34.3 billion, or about 10 per cent of all local corporate bonds.

MP warns Parliament of exposure to Syed Mokhtar’s mounting debt

The surging debt of companies under Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary has led a federal lawmaker to warn of a repeat of the financial system’s collapse in 1998 that had then been spurred by the failure of Renong Bhd to fulfill its liabilities.

With China’s economy quickly cooling and the persistent euro-zone crisis looming over Malaysia’s export-oriented economy, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua told Parliament that a recession may cause the logistics tycoon’s (picture) empire to fall.

“Syed Mokhtar’s group of companies has a combined debt of RM34.3 billion or more than 10 per cent of all local corporate bonds as of 2011 with only RM7.8 billion cash as of May 2012,” he said while debating the supplementary supply bill.

Syed Mokhtar adds POS Malaysia to growing empire

Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary expanded his business empire today when it was announced that DRB-Hicom Bhd has won the bid to buy Khazanah Nasional’s 32.2 per cent stake in Pos Malaysia Berhad.

DRB Hicom is controlled by Syed Mokhtar who also controls a vast array of other businesses such as ports, including the nation’s second largest — the Port of Tanjung Pelepas — the nation’s largest independent power producer Malakoff Corp, water treatment plants, national rice supplier Bernas and the national gas distribution business via Gas Malaysia.

His flagship company MMC Corp is also involved in a joint venture with Gamuda to be the project manager for the KL MRT, touted as the nation’s largest ever construction project.

Khazanah’s managing director, Tan Sri Datuk Azman Haji Mokhtar, said in a media statement today that DRB-HICOM was chosen based on their overall bid, which offers not only a defined strategy but also an executable business plan and an acceptable offer price.

“Their proposed strategy and business plan in turn provides an effective platform for POS’s growth, if adopted by the Board of POS as a whole,” he said.