THE Malaysian embassy and its ambassador in New York were served with a US demarche following the country’s refusal to condemn Hamas for its October 7 attack on Israeli citizens.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the US had sent three demarche notices to the Malaysian general consulate in New York and one to the ambassador. 

“Malaysia received the first demarche on October 13 and the second on October 30. In total we were served with three demarches.

“They were submitted to us following our full support for Palestinians and our refusal to brand Hamas a terror group. Our stand is clear, that we will not bow to pressure and we will continue to support the people of Palestine,” he said in parliament today.

The US government defines demarche as “a request or intercession with a foreign official, a request for support of a policy, or a protest about the host government’s policy or actions”.

Wan Ahmad Fayshal Wan Ahmad Kamal MP (Machang-PN) asked Anwar if Malaysia would boycott the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in November in protest of US policy.

Anwar said Malaysia is in the midst of contacting its Asean partners before making a decision.

“We are contacting our neighbours, including China, before making any decision. We want to know where they stand,” he stated.

Anwar recently said he had received several threats over his advocacy for Palestine.

He said he would not be intimidated by such threats. – October 31, 2023.