With LNG agreement in hand, Finance Minster de Jong heads for Malaysia

Finance Minister Mike de Jong is in
Malaysia this week to discuss
the recent Petronas  LNG Agreement
with Malyasian officials

With last weeks vote from the British Columbia Legislature regarding the agreement between Petronas and the province now in the history books, B. C.'s Finance Minister is taking to the road to provide an overview of developments in British Columbia for Malaysian officials.

As we outlined on the blog last week, the Legislature passed the LNG Agreement on Tuesday afternoon, as the Liberal government used its majority to ensure the Agreement moved forward.

Mr. de Jong noted the progress that the province had made with its LNG ambitions in a statement prior to his departure for Asia.

“Now that the Province has met its obligations, we are an important step closer to the company’s final investment decision and the start of an LNG industry in B.C. ... We will keep moving forward to make this incredible opportunity a reality so we can build our economic portfolio, and create jobs and opportunities for British Columbians now and in the future.” -- BC Finance Minister Micheal de Jong is in Malaysia for further LNG discussions with the Malaysian government

A media release from Saturday outlined some of the focus that Mr. de Jong plans to bring to the discussions with Malaysian government officials when it comes to the future of LNG development in British Columbia.

Mr. de Jong will be in Malaysia for a total of six days, where he will discuss the ratification in the Legislature of the Agreement between British Columbia and Petronas, as well as take the opportunity to meet with other investors to highlight the potential of investment in British Columbia.

CBC-- Michael de Jong heads to Malaysia to try and close LNG deal
CTV -- B. C. finance Minister heads to Malaysia to discuss LNG deal
Global BC -- B. C. Minister off to Malaysia to discuss LNG deal

We imagine however, that one item that won't be on the agenda for discussion during his six day visit, will be some conversation on a recent Malaysian government order that places some curbs on freedom of the press in that nation.

A recent order from the Malaysian government will see two publications suspend their publications, after recent articles that were critical of the troubles of a debt-laden Malaysian Development fund.

Malaysia's Home Ministry suspends the The Edge publications over 1MDB reports
Malaysia suspends 2 Newspapers covering Scandal at State-Owned Fund

The decision to crackdown on the media by Malaysian officials, may provide for just a bit of ammunition for the NDP opposition and others that are concerned about the Province's recent agreement with the Malaysian energy company, which itself is a component of the Malaysian government.

The moves of the Malaysian government to limit the ability to report on troubling news, will we imagine be noted by  doubt by those in British Columbia who have expressed their concerns over what they believe is a deal that is far too friendly to the Malaysian energy giant.

More background on the Pacific NorthWest LNG proposal can be found on our archive page.

While items related to events from the Legislature can be reviewed on our Legislature page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review