Malaysian Prime Minister holds a pro-Palestine rally

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Nov 3, 2023 - 21:41
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Malaysian Prime Minister holds a pro-Palestine rally
Photo Source: Malaysian Prime Minister speaking at pro-Palestine rally, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Hadi Azmi, via SCMP, 24th October 2023

02-11-2023

Nuno Daun

Southeast Asia & Pacific Team 

Global Human Rights Defense

Pro-Palestine Stance

On the 24th of October, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim held a pro-Palestine rally in the nation’s capital of Kuala Lumpur, in which he strongly condemned Israel’s action in Gaza in the recent conflicts. Malaysia, as a majority-Muslim nation, held the largest rally thus far. 

During the rally, the Prime Minister ascertained that the situation in Gaza is certain to become more dire due to the West’s pro-Israel stance. Furthermore, the Malaysian Prime Minister stated that Israel’s “arrogance” when dealing with Palestine is a consequence of the backing of the United States and Europe, since the majority of Western governments do not recognize Palestine as a sovereign state, calling it “the height of barbarism.” Stating that the West is not holding Israel accountable to the same democratic ideals and human rights that they claim to stand for. Since the recent Gaza conflict, the Israeli government has killed more than 5.000 people with an estimated 2.000 being children.

To date, Malaysia has hosted Hamas leaders and has not condemned Hamas as a terrorist group due to its support of the Palestinian cause. 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s support for the Palestinian cause dates back to his college days in the 1970s, when he protested for the Palestinian cause as a student leader.

Western Response

During the rally, Prime Minister Ibrahim Anwar alleged that he had received multiple threats from Western countries, to which he claimed that these threats unfazed him, due to his “unwavering support from the people.” Additionally, the Prime Minister also condemned Russia’s stance regarding the Ukraine war, whilst supporting Israel in the invasion of Palestine. 

Following the Prime Minister’s pro-Palestine rally and his criticism of the West’s stance, the United States have recently been pressuring the Malaysian government to publicly categorize Hamas as a terrorist group, as the majority of western nations did. To which the Prime Minister responded that Malaysia will not change its stance, in particular with their reluctance to label Hamas as a terrorist group, stating that Malaysia will maintain its “independent position.” Prime Minister Anwar’s comments are reflective of Malaysia’s longstanding bipartisan support for Palestine, as alleged per the Malaysian Department of Foreign Affairs, the U.S has not publicly made these statements.

Afterwards, the Prime Minister disclosed that Malaysians had taken an unprecedented step towards support for Israel-Palestine by reaching out to discuss the issue in person with the nations surrounding Palestine. Further stating that, “Usually, we only give statements from afar, but this time, I decided to go around the Arab world to express this position.” These talks include the nations of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and more, with the intent of distributing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, an end to which some nations agreed to. Both Malaysia and Indonesia have shown unwavering support for the Palestinian case, making them the most vocal countries on the issue from the South-East Asian region.

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