OVER the past two weeks, Palestinians have been suffering from protracted conflict with the Israeli armed forces. Many innocent people have died, much more on the Palestinian side than Israel’s. 

This action has caused consternation in many who follow the Palestinian issue, Malaysia included.

Being involved in the conflict as an active advocate for the Palestinian cause, a supporter of the two-state solution and providing non-combatant aid and relief since the beginning of the issue, this is a topic dear to many Malaysian hearts – Muslim or otherwise.

Reasons for that are multifold. First, Malaysia, being a Muslim-majority country and leading Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member, would have the tendency of highlighting issues pertaining to other Muslim countries.

Although Palestine is a Muslim-majority country, the issue is actually a land-related one, with Fatah, one of the two large political-cum-resistance groups of Palestine, even having Christian members in its ranks. The conflict has been highlighted by local media since the 1990s and many Malaysians grew up exposed to it.

Second, majority of Malaysians being Muslim, would have an emotional connection to their brethren’s plight. Many Malaysian Muslims already have a disdain for Israel for its perceived bullying of Muslim minorities.

Third, because of the first two reasons, Palestine has, over the years, become a politically charged topic as well. This is evident in slander against some politicians, by associating them with the Israelis, or against the Palestinians, which is, more often than not, untrue.

This often targeting Christian politicians who are a bit more vocal or open about their faith, due to the negative connotation here of Christian Zionists, usually associated with American evangelicals, perhaps making the charges more believable due to a shared faith with our local politicians, even if they do not remotely share their political ideology.

The combination of these, and perhaps frustration at being unable to do anything, has made Malaysians vent their anger at cyberspace. No less than the Israeli Defence Forces’ social media pages were targeted, along with anything considered “Israeli”. Insults were thrown, peculiarly Malaysian ones at that.

The attention, presumably generated by hashtags and status updates, garnered enough attention for a response.

Malaysia found itself with two issues a couple of days after – Israel issued a statement that it would be targeting Hamas activists abroad and mentioned us by name. A cybersecurity alert was also issued to Malaysian government bodies and agencies for possible hacktivism. 

At the point our resources are used to combat the rising Covid-19 tide, where we went from one of the best in the world to one of the worst in a span of months, our security resources could be spent better. 

No one is denying Malaysians’ right to be passionate about the cause, but we can do so in a meaningful fashion that achieves something, much like the Orthodox Jews protesting their own government, or the Irish parliament that stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Both used their most powerful asset – their identity, instead of drowning out valid points in a shouting match. 

Malaysia has a unique ethno-religious composition that could influence much opinion, especially regionally. This influence, if used correctly, can persuade political decisions, as we did before with the Moro issue and Bosnia. 

Local commentators should also appreciate the sensitivity of the issue when commenting or making incendiary political remarks. As faith is an emotive issue, there is no need to draw the issue along racial or religious lines, when it is in fact a geopolitical one. 

If comparisons need to be drawn with similar issues like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or land occupation of Malaysian aboriginal population, the parallels can be done without accusatory tones.

A gentle approach will help us understand each other better. The average Malaysian would be familiar with topics affecting them or their sphere of influence and need to be educated on them. 

Perhaps then, we can truly achieve understanding between each other as fellow Malaysians and as citizens of a global world, compassionate with conviction and fighting against injustice, be it across our own street or across two oceans. – May 19, 2021.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.