KUALA LUMPUR – Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir has told an American “pro-Zionist” academic Bruce Gilley to rethink his judgement on Malaysia as an “unsafe” country.
Responding to the Portland State University’s professor of political science, Zambry said Gilley should not doubt Malaysia’s safety after having been here without any disturbance.
“Basking in the heavenly bliss of Malaysia, untouched by unrest, threats, or bigotry. Yet, now questioning its safety? Perhaps a rethink on your judgement is overdue,” Zambry said on X.
This comes after Gilley’s post this morning, where he said he had left Malaysia – calling it an unsafe place to travel to.
“I have safely departed from Malaysia, one step ahead of the Islamo-fascist mob whipped up by the government there.
“This is not a safe country to travel to now,” he posted.
Gilley’s post garnered backlash from local X users and received more than 1,400 comments, as of press time, attacking his remarks.
He stirred a firestorm on social media yesterday when he posted the remarks he gave in a speech at Universiti Malaya, accusing Malaysia of wanting a “second Holocaust against the Jews”.
This led to UM cancelling another seminar he was due to speak at today. The university has also apologised and said it would beef up screening procedures for guest speakers in the future.
In an earlier statement today, Zambry said all programmes to be attended by Gilley should be scrapped.
Among the responses Gilley has been receiving on X from Malaysians include calls to stay away from “this peaceful and harmonious country”, as @NA_Yusof posted.
“We don’t welcome you. We don’t want you extremists in our peaceful country. We live in harmony.
“We have people from different ethnicities, cultures, beliefs, and religions. We celebrate and cherish differences. Not like Israel, an extremist ethnostate. Don’t come again!” he said.
Social media users also dug up Gilley’s past posts, such as on April 20 where he described Kuala Lumpur as a “clean,” “safe,” and “civilised” city with a picture of the women-only MRT coach.
Quote tweeting the post, several X users attacked him for changing his tune.
@LisanvalGaib asked Gilley how he managed to travel here if it was unsafe.
“Despite your ‘not a safe country’ remark, you still managed to walk around in this country. Do you think anyone will take you seriously?” he asked.
Meanwhile, user @shinzlandgraab contrasted Gilley’s descriptions of Malaysia with the fact that he was able to leave safely.
“The fact that you left without a scratch when the whole country hates you tells you how safe it is and gives you the audacity to cry like a victim. What a joke,” she said.
Other netizens said Malaysia is much safer than the US where shootings have been reported at schools and universities there.
Gilley, whose X header image is Israel’s flag, is also receiving lots of comments which simply said “Free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Meanwhile, Luthfy Hamzah, a postgraduate student from UM who attended Gilley’s online seminar yesterday, said in a thread that Gilley had placed the university in a difficult position while he had left the country. – April 25, 2024