A SPORTS official said Malaysia should have done its “homework” on hosting  international sports events if it wants to ban Israeli athletes.

Federal Territory Athletics Association (FTAA) secretary S. Vegiyathuman agreed that Malaysia should not change its stand towards Israel, but said the government should have known that an international event would likely attract Israeli athletes.

“They should have done their homework first. Of course, if we know we will not allow Israeli to enter, then they should have known better.”

Academics, however, say being stripped of the right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships is a small sacrifice for the Palestinian cause.

Peace and Conflict Studies expert Prof Dr Kamarulzaman Askandar said it was important for Malaysia to stick to its principles. 

“We need to make clear our principles so that the problems faced by the Palestinians will be heard, too. We need to highlight it,” he said when asked if Malaysia’s decision to ban Israeli athletes from entering the country for the event would jeopardise future chances of hosting more events.

“If we lose the right to host future events, for me that is just a small sacrifice,” said Kamarulzaman from the School of Social Sciences and International Relations Programme at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently said Malaysia will not allow Israeli athletes to participate in the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships that was to be held in Kuching.

Dr Mahathir said Israel, which Malaysia does not have diplomatic ties over the Palestinian issue, was a criminal country.

Following the ban on Israeli athletes, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) then stripped Malaysia of the hosting rights of the event scheduled for July 29 to August 4.

According to the IPC, the decision was taken during its governing board meeting in London after the Malaysian Home Ministry failed to provide the necessary guarantees that Israeli swimmers could participate in the championships safely and without discrimination.

Universiti Utara Malaysia’s dean of the College of Law, Government and International Studies Professor Ahmad Marthada Mohamed said Malaysia was not the first country to state its displeasure towards Israel.

“Malaysia is not the first country to show its displeasure. The Irish have shown it decades ago, and even in their Parliament there have been debates about Israel’s horrendous treatment against the Palestinians.

“In Britain, too, there have been debates on this issue and I think other countries must respect our decision. We have to make it clear that we are not anti-Jewish, but we are anti-Zionist.

“I don’t think that we will lose (hosting) rights in the future as there are many other countries that have stated their displeasure before and they can still host international events,” said Marthada. – February 1, 2019.