IN a statement over the weekend, mainly as a reaction to the outcry from the rural heartland and urban electorates in the Malay cities, Umno knows that its close relationship with President Donald Trump has put its electoral pact with PAS in deep creek.

Hishammuddin Hussein, the defence minister who is concurrently the special functions minister in charge of the issue of Islamic State in the Prime Minister’s Department, affirmed that “if need be, Malaysia will send its troops to Jerusalem”.

This has drawn a sharp rebuke from the National Patriots Association (NPA), veterans’ association in Malaysia, who asked that under whose authority would such missions be despatched.

Traditionally, the armed forces in Malaysia, including those despatched to Congo in the mid-1960s, had done so under the purview and authority of the UN peacekeepers. The tradition has been maintained to this day, when Malaysian peacekeepers are needed in conflict areas like Lebanon, or, Somalia.

In the movie Black Hawk Down, not many people were aware that it was Malaysian soldiers who saved the American rangers under siege from Somali militias. Had it not for the Malaysian armed forces, the US marines and rangers would have suffered huge casualties ranging in the hundreds if not thousands.

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Defence did not file significant protest against the mischaracterisation of the book nor the movie, thus, denying our Malaysian patriots the due recognition that they richly deserved.

It is odd that the defence minister, without first speaking to the prime minister, for the matter the Agong, or the National Security Council, immediately broached the idea of sending troops abroad to Israel if need be. That itself is reckless.

Israel does not have diplomatic relationship with Malaysia. It is walled up to prevent Palestinians, even Israeli Arabs, from entering Palestine at will. At which point of the West or Old City of Jerusalem would Malaysia enter to safeguard the sanctity of Baitul Maqdis? Or is it just another rhetorical battle cry playing to the gallery, irresponsibly?

In 1988, even the Old City of Jerusalem was ceded by the late King Hussein of Jordan to Palestinians.

Since then, the “final status” of Jerusalem has always been a point of contention between Israel and Palestine, which is why it boggles the mind why Najib Razak’s close golf buddy, President Donald Trump saw it fit to offer the city in its entirety to Israel. It may be his election promise, but how can one give something that does not belong to him?

Two wrongs do not make a right. Trump has committed a serious transgression by listening to the US ambassador to Israel, Jason Greenblatt, to pass Jerusalem to Israel. Trump has also allowed his worse judgment – and he has many – to cave in to the lobbying of Jared Kushner, who not unlike Greenblatt, is a known Zionist.

By sending Malaysian troops to redeem a situation that has become more complex by the day, where demonstrators are rising up in Lebanon, Palestine, West Bank, Gaza, and the whole of the Muslim world, Hishammuddin has displayed his total ignorance of defence security dynamics and diplomatic protocol with countries that do not have relationship with Malaysia at all.

Shouldn’t Hishammuddin at least urge the prime minister to convene a special session in Parliament on the urgency of the status of Baitul Maqdis? In fact, Prime Minister Najib, too, is running Malaysia like a headless chicken.

Instead of summoning the US ambassador in Malaysia to the Prime Minister’s Office or Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a dressing down, Najib has committed himself to the photo op of appearing with 57 Muslim leaders who come under the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) tomorrow in Istanbul.

The total intra-regional trade of OIC is less than 5%. When one removed oil and gas from the ledger, the figure is even more depressing – perhaps less than 1%.

The Muslim world, in other words, does not trade among each other. More importantly, the likes of Muhammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia appear bent on forming an alliance with Israel to contain Iran.

When Trump affirmed that Jerusalem would be handed over to Israel, the tweet from Saudi Arabia was: “Riyadh is more important than Baitul Maqdis”.

How can OIC even see eye to eye when Saudi Arabia and Iran, even Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are at loggerheads?

Malaysia, being a Southeast Asian country with Muslim majority, cannot do much, unless it urges members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to throttle the quantity of oil to the West, not unlike what had once occurred in 1973 under the leadership of King Malik Al Feisal of Saudi Arabia. 

Sending soldiers to Israel is not only a daft ideal, but an idea made of a clutch of straws.

Hishammuddin, despite being a defence minister with close ties to the prime minister, must be ill advised or at best puerile to even deign to think of such a silly idea that may win him a very short-lived cry of Allahu Akbar and loud applause in the Umno general assembly, but will live to ruin his shocking unthoughtful declaration that will harm Malaysia and Malaysians in the long run without even achieving the intended aim.

The US, for decades, has been known to be partial in its dealing with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

US presidents can come and go, but the foreign policy of favouring Israel never changes, howsoever brutal the apartheid Israeli regime is against the defenceless Palestinians.

Under Trump, the Israeli bias went up several notches. To suggest that Malaysians are ready to go to Jerusalem is simplistic.

Instead what would be the practical action would be to build a strong coalition of the willing among the OIC countries to plan specific actions that will show the strong disapproval of the Muslim nations on the unilateral move by Trump without due consultation.

This is a red line that the OIC must never allow the US and Israel to cross without specific actions. Even the United Nations has come out strongly against this unilateral declaration by Trump by stating that it will bring more harm than good to the peace process.

The EU, too, rejected outright Israeli efforts to have them support Trump’s unilateral declaration. But as history has shown, soon enough, smaller, insignificant and Israeli friendly countries will start to join the Trump bandwagon.

And all hell will break loose as this will trigger hostile reaction the world over, with more acts of vicious cycle of terror, benefitting no one.

So before making rash statements that could have tectonic consequences, it is wise to be mindful and careful of saying it, especially if it is from a defence minister of a nation.

God save Malaysia. – December 12, 2017.

* Dr Rais Hussin is a supreme council member of Bersatu. He also heads its policy and strategy bureau.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.