MALAYSIA’S support for Hamas will not affect foreign investments, observers said.

They said Malaysia’s position on the Middle East conflict was well known, and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was not the first leader to express support for Palestine.

They said this when asked if Malaysia’s vocal support for Hamas and the Palestinians in theGaza war would drive away Western investors who are largely pro-Israel.

Academic Mazlan Ali said despite Malaysia’s strong opposition to Israel, Europe and the United States still consider Malaysia to be a friendly nation. 

“This is not the first time we have condemned Israel for the atrocities it is committing. We have even invited Hamas leaders to Malaysia. Does that stop investors? I don’t think so. We still have ties with many countries, even with the US and Britain. 

“If the Western nations wanted to isolate us, they would have done it a long time ago,” said the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia senior lecturer.

On whether Malaysia should boycott the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in San Francisco next month, Mazlan said Anwar should not risk losing future investments .

“I don’t see why we need to boycott the meeting just because the US is there. We need to continue to trade and increase our investment. This is for the sake of the country. Unless we want to be like North Korea, do what we please. 

“Not attending the meeting will cost us a lot in trade and investment. Does it mean that we do not support the Palestinians if we attend? No. We will continue to support and send aid,” said Mazlan.

A group of pro-Palestinian organisations recently submitted a memorandum to Anwar urging him to cancel afforts to forge close ties with the US  unless the American government changes its policy of support for Israel.

The group demanded that Anwar skip the Apec meeting, which is hosted by the US government.  

On October 17, Anwar reported a phone conversation with Hamas political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh, in which he expressed Malaysia’s support for the Palestinian people.

In January 2020, then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had welcomed Ismail on his first official trip to Malaysia since becoming the organisation’s top leader in May 2017.

In 2021, Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia’s eighth prime minister, had a phone conversation with Ismail following an airstrike by Israeli forces in the Gaza strip.

The United States and Israel call Haniyeh a terrorist and Hamas, a terror organisation. 

Universiti Sains Malaysia academic Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid said recognising the state of Palestine and attending the Apec summit are two different matters.

“We cannot conflate the two things. Our support for Palestine is clear while we have to keep our position as a trading nation. Plus, Malaysia will not be the only country opposing Israel at the summit. 

“We will be branded as immature (if we boycott the meeting). We must not get too emotional. The fact that we don’t recognise Israel is already a loud statement,” he said.

Oh Ei Sun at the Pacific Research Center of Malaysia said Anwar cannot afford to miss Apec.

He said Anwar has put himself in a difficult position.

“On the one hand, he thinks his staunchly pro-Palestine stance is needed to buttress his international standing in the Muslim world and to unite the Malays at home.

“On the other hand, many multinational companies are either Jewish-owned or sympathetic to Israel. How he would navigate these choppy waters would require all his political nimbleness.

“For example, he cannot afford not to go to Apec as that would put him squarely in the anti-Western camp. But how he would placate his domestic, very pro-Palestinian Malay audience afterwards will test his political skills,” said Oh.

Anwar has said that he had received threats from some sections in “Europe, the US and certainly Israel” for supporting the Palestinian cause.

He said Malaysia would not comply with Western calls to condemn Hamas militants after they launched a wave of deadly attacks on Israelis on October 7. – October 30, 2023.