China control of port threatens national security, says Kuantan MP

People should be wary of China’s control of Kuantan Port as it is a threat to national security, claimed PKR’s Fuziah Salleh.

Fuziah, the Kuantan MP, was responding to a Malaysiakini special report on the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP) and China’s acquisition of key assets in the east coast city.

The report stated that China's state-owned Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group Co Ltd, which controls a 49 percent share in MCKIP, also acquired a 40 percent stake in Kuantan Port.

The port faces the South China Sea, making it a strategic location in China’s aggressive claims over the international trade route.

“Allowing a foreign-owned company to have a 40 percent share can threaten national security. Is this wise, and should we allow this to happen?” she asked.

Fuziah said that the people of Kuantan have a right to be wary, as the potential threat is “far greater” than that they faced from the extensive environmental pollution caused by illegal bauxite mining.

She also took issue with Guangxi Beibu’s RM4 billion investment to construct a new deepwater terminal at Kuantan port, which the company undertook with its majority partner IJM Corp.

Deepwater terminals, she claimed, would allow large vessels like warships to dock, representing a further security threat.

Fuziah said the federal government should take the blame for allowing China to seize control of assets in strategic locations, warning that Malaysia’s coastal regions have already seen their fair share of security threats.

“Sabah has seen an invasion in its waters, and on a number of occasions witnessed its people ‘kidnapped’ by terrorists.

“How are the people of Kuantan to feel safe in a situation where 40 percent the port is controlled by a foreign company?

“Why do we have to make compromises on this issue of security?” she asked.- Mkini