No hedging for Malaysia in Israel-Hamas conflict

Anwar speaking at the OIC emergency summit in Riyadh. Malaysia can craft strategic leverage over key Arab players, Asean and China in strengthening the global solidarity front with the Palestinians and piling pressure on the West, says the writer. — Bernama

THE Israel-Palestine conflict has always been an issue that united the political spectrum in Malaysia, which is dominated by a Muslim-majority population. Support for the Palestinian cause is not just religious but also humanitarian and Palestinian statehood remains a unifying factor across racial, religious and political affiliations.

As much as it is critical for the Anwar Ibrahim administration to defend the rights of the Palestinians in line with the capturing of the hearts and minds of Malaysian Muslim voters, a predominant factor is also the country’s entrenched non-alignment stance.