Dateline Report
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has defended Malaysia’s relations with Hamas, saying he made “no apologies” for his nation’s historical links with the Palestinian militant group and reiterating his stance that the Middle East conflict predates the October 7 attack on Israel.
Anwar has been one of the most vocal critics in the Muslim world of Israel’s relentless attack on Gaza – an assault which has claimed over 30,000 lives so far, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Israel’s attacks followed the October 7 incursion into Israel by Hamas-led militants, which killed around 1,200 Israelis and saw scores taken as hostages into Gaza.
During a visit to Germany, a staunch supporter of Israel, Anwar said he would make “no apologies” over Malaysia’s stance on Hamas and urged people to “understand the fundamental cause of the problem” that triggered the conflict.
“What I reject strongly is this narrative, this obsession, as if the entire problem begins and ends with the 7th of October,” the prime minister said. There had been decades of “atrocities, plunder and dispossession of Palestinians,” he added at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.
“We do not have any connection with any military outfit or wing, I’ve clarified this to many of my European colleagues [and] the United States,” said Anwar, who was on an official visit to Germany.
His comment puts Malaysia diametrically opposite Germany regarding the Israel–Gaza war, with Berlin firmly behind Israel and defending the Jewish-majority state in the genocide case in the International Court of Justice.
Muslim-majority Malaysia does not recognise Israel’s statehood. It has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, hosting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 1984 and 2001 and welcoming Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal, leaders of the political wing of Hamas, in 2020.
Despite their differences, Anwar insisted there was “trust” between Malaysia and Germany on the issue of the Israel-Gaza war and they agreed on some aspects, such as pushing for a two-state solution.
Anwar’s latest comments come as he continues to advocate strongly on behalf of the Palestinians.
During the Asean-Australia Special Summit 2024 in Melbourne, Anwar appealed to his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese last Thursday to reinstate funding to UNRWA, the UN agency that supports relief efforts for Palestinian refugees, amid the spectre of starvation in Gaza.
He also rebuked Western countries – with a “few exceptions” – for condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine while remaining “utterly silent on the relentless bloodletting inflicted on innocent men, women and children of Gaza.
“Unfortunately, the gut-wrenching tragedy that continues to unfold in the Gaza Strip has laid bare the self-serving nature of [the] much-vaunted rules-based order,” he said in his speech at the Australian National University in Canberra.
“The differing responses by the West to human suffering defy reason.”
Anwar’s staunch support for the Palestinians can be traced back to his years as a student leader in the 1970s including as the leader of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement.
Championing the cause is also a politically savvy move in Malaysia, which recognises the state of Palestine, as Malay-Muslim majority voters are deeply concerned about the plight of Palestinians amid a tilt towards conservatism since the last election in 2022.
Many Malaysians have boycotted businesses accused of funding Israel with the local arm of fast food chain McDonald’s and Starbucks Coffee consequently recording millions of ringgit in losses.
The Malaysian government has faced external pressure to review its stance on the war including from Washington.
Speaking in parliament last October, Anwar said the US had made démarche – a formal diplomatic representation – to persuade Malaysia to change its position on Hamas.
“It is to ask [Malaysia] to not carry on with our stance, especially our refusal to consider Hamas as a terror organisation,” Anwar added.
“We consider this a reminder, but our response is firm: to continue our relations with Hamas.”
Apart from Germany, the other countries that have designated Hamas as a terror organisation include the US, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and Israel.
Malaysia has repeatedly called for the veto powers of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, Russia, China, France and the UK – to be abolished to prevent them from being used “unjustifiably or abused” against the wishes of most member states.
The US has blocked three attempts in the UN calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire since the start of hostilities.
