To Israel and the West, Hamas are terrorists. But for Malaysia?

In apparent response, a Hamas member working at a Kuala Lumpur university was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2018 and another Palestinian was kidnapped last year, allegedly by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

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“Malaysia does not see Hamas as a terrorist organisation, rather it considers Hamas as fighting for the freedom of Palestine,” said political analyst Tunku Mohar Mokhtar of the International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur.

“Malaysia is sympathetic to Palestine in general, and does not really distinguish whether it is Hamas or the Palestine Liberation Organisation,” he added, referring to the umbrella group that is internationally recognised as the official representative for Palestinians globally.

Palestinian flags flutter within sight of the Petronas Twin Towers in downtown Kuala Lumpur and at parliament on Thursday, Islamist party PAS cast aside its animosity towards the Chinese-majority DAP party to join a photo call in which their leaders pledged 1 million ringgit (US$212,000) to the cause through the Palestinian Authority’s ambassador to Malaysia, Walid Abu Ali.

Malaysia has also long welcomed Hamas with open arms – and it is not coy about doing so, either.

“Standing up for Palestine is a moral obligation and Malaysia will continue to condemn Israel for its aggression and cruelties on Palestinians,” Mahathir said in 2019 after breaking fast with members of the Palestinian community in the country during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

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Stereotypes and struggle

In the past, Malaysia had hosted a small community of Jews but their numbers have dwindled since the 1970s as the government bolstered its anti-Israel stance. Jalan Yahudi – “Jew Road” – in Penang, where much of the community had been based, has since been renamed, erasing evidence of their existence.

Support for the Palestinians cuts across Malaysia’s political factions.

In 2011, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Saifuddin Nasution – long-time rivals who serve as the current deputy prime minister and home minister, respectively, in Anwar’s unity government – co-founded the Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia (PCOM) as a vehicle to spread awareness about the Palestinian cause among Malaysians.

PCOM has been accused of being affiliated with Hamas, despite its claims of being an apolitical cultural organisation.

Its leaders have shared a platform with Hamas leaders and they have been seen propagating the group’s messages.

“Given the close relationship that PCOM has maintained with Malaysian politicians and Hamas, some voices in Kuala Lumpur have argued that [the organisation] constitutes the unofficial embassy of Hamas in Malaysia,” said analyst Maren Koss in a report that was published by the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute.

In April, Saifuddin, whose ministry is in charge of internal security and immigration, affirmed Malaysia’s consensus when it comes to the Palestinian cause.

“Even though we have different opinions on politics … when it comes to the Palestine struggle, we are united,” he told reporters after a PCOM event in Kuala Lumpur.

Speaking to This Week in Asia, PCOM’s former CEO Muslim Imran said Malaysia should do more to advance the Palestinian cause beyond issuing statements of support.

“The situation in Gaza this time is very tense and Palestinians expect a stronger tone and more tangible effort in support of their struggle,” Muslim said, urging Anwar to pressure the international community to end Israeli attacks as well as to launch a massive fundraising campaign.

Hundreds of civilians have died in Gaza, as Israeli jets and artillery have launched brutal reprisals ostensibly aimed at Hamas militants in the narrow enclave in which 2.3 million people, half of them children, are trapped – as the drum beat for a ground offensive grows ever louder.

Malaysia’s media response to the carnage in Israel and Gaza has been heavily pro-Palestinian, focusing on the hardships of the Palestinian people in the face of Israel’s response to the Hamas attack.

Kidnappings and killings

Malaysia’s pro-Palestinian stance could exacerbate tensions with Israel, which were already high following a spate of incidents in recent years.

Israel’s then-Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, while denying any Israeli links with the killing, described al-Batsh as “no saint” and claimed that he was engaged in producing rockets.

Several Malaysians were also arrested last year over the botched kidnapping of two Palestinian men in Kuala Lumpur, which was reportedly commissioned by Mossad. Officers apprehended the suspects at a remote chalet on the outskirts of the city where the men were being tortured.

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Nazari Ismail, a Malaysian advocate for the Palestinian cause and director of a movement calling for a boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, speculated that more incidents may follow owing to the large number of Palestinians in Malaysia – and Mossad having an operational foothold in the country.

“We can assume that Mossad will continue to hire Malaysian citizens to commit murders, abductions, torture and other heinous crimes here to weaken the Palestinian resistance,” Nazari said.

Since Israel declared its independence in 1948, its security services have faced accusations of carrying out a number of extraterritorial – and extrajudicial – killings.

Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2006, has also faced accusations from the likes of Amnesty International of carrying out extrajudicial killings within the territory it controls.