May 24, 2024
SINGAPORE – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on May 23 that the leaders of Hamas, whom he has known for decades, consider him a friend and that gave him an edge in his attempt to secure peace in the Middle East.
The remarks by Datuk Seri Anwar at a Nikkei conference in Tokyo were in response to criticism he received for meeting a Hamas delegation led by the group’s political leader, Mr Ismail Haniyeh, in Qatar on May 13.
Mr Anwar said he told them during the meeting to respect the decisions of their neighbouring states, to release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and to accept the two-state solution.
“Is that an offence? Did I promote terrorism? No,” he said.
“I appealed (to the Hamas leaders) because I have an advantage. What’s my advantage? I know them and they consider me a friend,” he added.
While the meeting is Mr Anwar’s first with Mr Haniyeh after becoming prime minister, he had previously met the Hamas leader in 2019 and 2020.
He told the forum that the situation in Gaza must be viewed and understood as “a humanitarian crisis of an unprecedented scale”.
“People can talk about the political crisis but be blinded by the fact that daily you see children, women, civilians, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches being destroyed,” he said.
The United States and the European Union designate Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist organisation that controls Gaza, as a terrorist group.
Mr Anwar, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, was in Qatar on an official visit, and Hamas has a political office in the wealthy Gulf state, which is also acting as a mediator in talks between Hamas and Israel.
The ongoing war started on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas launched armed incursions into Israel, killing about 1,200 and taking some 250 others hostage. Israel’s retaliation has killed about 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gazan officials.
Days after the Oct 7 attack, Mr Anwar spoke to Mr Haniyeh over the phone to express Malaysia’s unwavering support for the Palestinian people.
Mr Anwar also attended and spoke at a pro-Palestine rally held in Kuala Lumpur in October 2023, while Malaysia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mohamad Alamin said in April 2024 that the country had dispatched more than 1,500 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The broader populace in Malaysia, a majority-Muslim country, has also expressed deep sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians, with American food companies deemed to be supportive of Israel currently being boycotted by consumers. The brands include Starbucks, KFC and McDonald’s.
Asked at the Nikkei forum about his opinion on the US’ position on the Middle East conflict, Mr Anwar said the country is not a monolith and there has been a “seismic shift” in how the conflict is perceived there. But he added that Washington is not doing enough to end the violence in Gaza.
“It is unfortunate that the United States is not using all its might, influence and resources to call for an end to the killings. That’s all we are asking. They might be a supporter of Israel, that’s not my concern… (But) how can you condone the genocide or apartheid or ethnic cleansing, and how (can) you deny that when the whole world can see?” he said.
While the US delayed a shipment of 500- and 2,000-pound bombs to Israel a few weeks ago amid concerns about their impact if they were used in dense urban areas, billions of dollars worth of US weaponry remains in the pipeline for Israel.
US President Joe Biden, however, warned earlier in May that he would halt the shipment of more American weapons and artillery shells to Israel if there was an invasion of the city of Rafah, even if Washington would keep providing defensive weapons, including for its Iron Dome air defence systems.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said this week that he had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Hamas for war crimes and crimes against humanity, in relation to the war in Gaza and the Oct 7 attack, respectively.
On May 10, 143 countries, including Singapore, voted for a United Nations resolution backing the admission of Palestine as a member of the world body.
In a statement explaining its vote, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Singapore’s support for this resolution is a vote in favour of a negotiated two-state solution at a critical juncture in a very troubled region.”