KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has received demarches from the United States embassy here, urging the country to withdraw its stance in the Palestine-Israel war, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, he said the demarches were issued – on October 13, 18 and 30 – to the Malaysian Foreign Ministry.
“Due to our unwillingness to object to the actions of Hamas and consider the group terrorists, I was informed that our Foreign Ministry received demarches from the US embassy.
“(It asked) the country not to continue its stance, especially its refusal to consider Hamas terrorists.
“I emphasise that Malaysia maintains its independence and humanitarian stance, and considers the invasion (by Israel) illegal in terms of international law,” he said during the prime minister’s question time.
A demarche is a formal diplomatic representation of one government’s official position, views, or wishes on a given subject to an appropriate official in another government or international organisation. Demarches generally seek to persuade, inform, or gather information from a foreign government, or to protest or object to actions by another government.
Anwar also said that the Malaysian ambassador in Washington was summoned by the US State Department, questioning the nation’s decision to object to Israel’s violence towards Gaza.
However, the prime minister said the ambassador remained firm in stating Malaysia’s position in the ongoing war.
Later, the Prime Minister’s Office shared that a demarche was issued on October 13 while the Malaysian ambassador to the US was called up on October 18.
It added that the US chargé d’affaires here had met with the Malaysian Foreign Ministry’s deputy secretary-general on October 30.
Malaysia has been on the receiving end of criticism and warnings from various parties in the US and Europe, but Anwar said he would not yield to such threats.
Instead, he again condemned Israel’s “criminal acts” – including cutting off food, water, humanitarian aid, and electricity – are violations of international law.
He reiterated his warning that the credibility of the international system is “at stake”, urging people to encourage each other to voice their opinions so the system aimed to uphold world peace is preserved.
The Tambun MP also described the thought of Malaysia being unaffected by the current issues to be a “fool’s errand”, as the nation is actively engaged in regional and global commercial and economic activities. – October 31, 2023