MALAYSIANS should be concerned about the lack of transparency and accountability in the RM140 billion worth of investment deals Putrajaya has struck with China, said PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar.

How these investments affect Malaysians will be discussed at length in a forum organised by Institut Rakyat at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on August 24.

The forum will feature Nurul Izzah. former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and economists Prof Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajuddin.

“Without proper oversight and analysis, Malaysians must be concerned that these deals with China, on such a scale, are simply too much, too fast, and too soon,” said Nurul Izzah who is also Lembah Pantai MP.

Institut Rakyat had highlighted that the 14 memoranda of understanding that Prime Minister Najib Razak signed with China last November were worth RM143.6 billion, a sum equal to 55% of this year’ federal budget.

“Chinese investment in Malaysia, especially if it translates into a massive national debt obligation, requires a holistic and thorough national-level discussion.

“The possible benefits and drawbacks of potentially rapid and under-regulated influx of capital from China will be deliberated in detail by the panelists, especially from the political, economic and social standpoint,” said Nurul Izzah, adding that a policy paper on Chinese investment in Malaysia will be released at the forum.

She said that ambitious projects such as Forest City and Bandar Malaysia were being announced with little information on their potential  adverse impact on the overall make-up of the country.

Questions on projects such as the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and Malacca Gateway were also going unanswered and required immediate clarification.

The Malacca Gateway is a RM43 billion undertaking that aims to overtake Singapore as the largest port in the region while the ECRL will cost RM55 billion.

“Truly nothing less than the financial independence and national sovereignty of Malaysia and Malaysians are at stake as the government rushes into these deals without transparency or accountability.

“Everything needs to be openly analysed and verified now, before it is too late to undo without great burden and further cost to the rakyat.”