KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s dealings with Israeli-linked companies such as BlackRock do not affect Palestinians’ view of the Southeast Asian nation’s solidarity with Gaza and the West Bank.
Instead, Palestine’s ambassador to Malaysia Walid Abu Ali said Palestinians appreciate the support of Malaysians, especially over the past nine months of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its increased aggression in the West Bank.
Speaking to Scoop, Walid said that the embassy is also disinclined to interfere with Malaysia’s domestic politics.
He noted that Malaysia’s policies were already highly supportive of the Palestinian cause.
Walid also said that from the outset, boycotts were never part of Malaysia’s culture, but the involvement of its citizens in the recent international effort was a welcomed contribution.
“Boycotting is not a (distinctive) Malaysian function but is an international effort to try helping the Palestinian cause.
“We (Palestinians) in Malaysia are satisfied with the measures taken by the Malaysian government and we are very much satisfied by the reaction of Malaysians to the boycotts,” Walid told Scoop.
Asked if he agreed with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement that the involvement of Israel-linked companies with Putrajaya was not considered concerning for the Palestinian authorities, Walid agreed.
“We trust the measures by the Malaysian government and what they do,” Walid added.
The ambassador also said Putrajaya’s efforts to champion the Palestinian cause were not limited to domestic measures but extended to its foreign policies as well.
He noted Anwar’s joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in March, saying the Palestinian people saluted Anwar’s stance on Western hypocrisy regarding the war on Gaza.
“What else can we (Palestinians) ask for than what he (Anwar did) did by clarifying Malaysia’s position on the conflict?
“At that time, I personally thanked the prime minister and appreciated what Anwar did in Germany,” Walid added.
Recently, the Madani administration courted controversy over its decision to allow the involvement of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in the Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) privatisation exercise.
GIP is set to be acquired by New York-based BlackRock, which also holds shares in weapons companies supplying arms to Israel.
Responding to critics, Anwar said Putrajaya was not in the position to stop every foreign Israel-linked company from doing business with Malaysia as such a policy would be detrimental to the country’s economy.
Currently, a large segment of the Malaysian public is involved in a boycott movement to avoid multinational corporations with links to Israel – largely avoiding chains such as McDonald’s and Starbucks.
While the Malaysian public was involved in similar boycotts previously, the movement intensified following Israel’s brutal military campaign against Gaza following an attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
According to Walid, authorities recorded almost 120,000 casualties with 38,000 confirmed dead.
He said 70% of the recorded deaths involved women and children, adding that at least 10,000 Palestinians were still lost under the rubble.
Although nine months have passed since the last escalation of strikes, Walid attributes the continuation of Israel’s attacks against Palestinians to the failure of the international community. – June 27, 2024