SEREMBAN: Malaysia will not be intimidated into changing its decades-old policy of not allowing Israeli nationals into the country, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said Malaysia had not contravened any international law for having such a policy.
“I would like to respond to the United States lawmakers, some of them at least, who stated categorically that Malaysia is in contravention of international laws and was disrespectful of the rights of nations.
“This is totally absurd. As far as we are concerned, this policy has been adopted by Malaysia for decades.
“We are against the presence here of any Israeli citizen, not Jews, but Israeli citizens because they are complicit to the murders, crimes and continuous oppression, colonisation of Palestine and Gaza,” he said.
On Tuesday, several US lawmakers called on Washington to review its security and economic ties with Malaysia following Anwar’s remark to deport Israeli nationals with dual citizenship.
In a joint letter, US congressman Greg Landsman, Josh Gottheimer, Jimmy Panetta, Dan Goldman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jared Moskowitz, Brad Sherman and Jake Auchincloss urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to clarify the steps to be taken in response to Anwar’s remarks.
They said Malaysia receives security assistance, including the International Military Education and Training (Imet) programme, which pays for Malaysian military personnel to receive professional US military training.
This came after Anwar said Malaysia would deport Israeli nationals holding dual citizenship and residing in the country.
It was in response to calls by the Johor government for authorities to investigate Network School, a technology community at Forest City, following claims that Israeli nationals with dual citizenship were living in the area.
Anwar said the US lawmakers were using the opportunity to threaten the Malaysian government and him.
“They must understand that this is an independent and sovereign nation, and our opposition to Israel is due to their tyranny, their colonisation, and their daily killings,” he said.
