Eventful week on Palestinian conflict in Malaysia points to West's 'second rehabilitation' of Anwar?

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is facing pressure to "rehabilitate" himself from recent anti-Western remarks, an uncharacteristic turn from a time two decades ago when he was seen as being groomed by Western allies to take over from their erstwhile enemy Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

This follows Washington's attempt to bring Malaysia in line in imposing sanctions against enemies it labels as "terrorists" by sending two officials to Kuala Lumpur.

MalaysiaNow has learnt that the pair's visit, and the way it was managed by Putrajaya, was criticised by at least two members of Anwar's Cabinet.

A source from a Pakatan Harapan (PH) component party said the government had missed a big chance to dial back on recent actions seen as not reflecting Malaysia's policy of showing full support for the Palestinian struggle.

"First we feted a Saudi scholar well known for his cordial ties with Zionists, then we allowed arms dealers to come and promote their goods here when they are blatantly aiding Israel in its genocide," said the source, speaking to MalaysiaNow under condition of anonymity.

The source was referring to Anwar's justification for allowing the presence of several defence companies involved in aiding Israel's war machine at the recent Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security (Natsec) Asia in Kuala Lumpur.

During the same week, Anwar also played host to a prominent Saudi scholar who was criticised by Muslims for taking part in events organised pro-Zionist Jewish leaders.

A visibly annoyed Mohammad Abdulkarim Al-Issa later replied to questions by the local media on his engagements with Zionist groups as documented by MalaysiaNow, saying he has no ties with Israel.

The prime minister had earlier attended a special convocation to honour Al-Issa, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Universiti Malaya just weeks after the university was embroiled in controversy for hosting an openly pro-Israeli professor from the US.

Adding to the eventful week that sparked a social media debate on Anwar's commitment to the Palestinian struggle, the US despatched two Treasury officials in a bid to warn Malaysia to halt all trade and transactions with "terrorist" entities as defined by Washington.

Undersecretary for Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson and Treasury general-counsel Neil MacBride held talks with Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution, MPs and other officials, where Malaysia reportedly "took note" of the US' concerns.

A Middle Eastern diplomat who previously served in Kuala Lumpur welcomed Putrajaya's stance, specifically when it reportedly told the Americans that Malaysia is not bound by its unilateral sanctions on entities accused of terrorism.

But he said the government should have taken a stronger stance upon learning that the US officials were coming "to tell you what to do".

"The fact that their trip and the reason behind it was announced on the US Treasury website shows that they had no inhibitions about sending a message that they were coming to warn Malaysia," the diplomat, who is now based in Paris, told MalaysiaNow.

The diplomat said the government could have announced that the officials were not welcome if their declared aim was to tell Malaysia to amend its foreign policy.

"It would have been a different case under Mahathir," said the diplomat, who served three years in Kuala Lumpur during the 1990s, referring to the former prime minister who was known for his anti-West stance throughout his two decades of rule.

"He would have told them literally to go fly a kite, so that before any discussion took place, these officials would know they stand no chance of bullying a close ally," he added.

The US has imposed sanctions on Iran and Hamas, among a host of entities which it accuses of terrorist activities. Malaysia has cordial ties with both of them, and this had not been an issue until recently.

One diplomat said the visit by the US pair was not only badly timed as Muslim sentiments against Israel are at their peak worldwide, but also undermined those it regards as allies, such as Anwar.

A second round of rehabilitation?

He said the US moves only made matters complicated for Anwar's domestic position in the face of a deficit of support from Malay Muslims.

Anwar once earned praise from Israeli media for a previous stance defending Israel's right to security alongside a Palestinian state, a view that haunted him during the 2022 general election campaign.

"Anwar is someone who wants to be seen as a Muslim spokesman but at the same time friendly to the West. That is something impossible to achieve in the present climate of genocide."

But Israel's military campaign in Gaza last year gave him an opportunity to shed any image of being "Israel-friendly".

Anwar appeared to spare no efforts to do so, from travelling to several Muslim capitals in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians, to claiming that he was threatened by Western governments for speaking out against Israel.

He even mooted a Palestinian solidarity march at schools, which irked some parts of his non-Muslim vote bank, many of whom view the Palestinian conflict as something close to Malay-Muslims.

It is no secret that these acts are in order to boost his domestic support.

Late last year, he took aim at Mahathir when he announced a ban on Israeli ships from Malaysian ports, saying it was the former leader who had allowed them access.

Still, it would be a monumental task for anyone to beat Mahathir when it comes to lambasting Israel and its Western backers, especially as he has been labelled multiple times as an "anti-Semite", a badge Mahathir said he would proudly wear if it meant being anti-Israel.

More recently, the soon-to-be 99-year-old Mahathir broke months of silence to urge Anwar to expel US arms companies taking part in the DSA-Natsec exhibition.

"Let them know that there is no place in Malaysia for anyone who supports or conspires with Israel to commit genocide against the Palestinians," he said in response to protests over the participation of companies supplying military equipment to Israel at the exhibition.

The companies included Lockheed Martin, whose military products have aided Israel in its destruction of Gaza which has so far claimed at least 30,000 lives, mostly women and children.

Anwar dismissed the concerns, saying Malaysia had no problem welcoming any company as long as it was not based in Israel.

The view was panned by Palestinian activists, who pointed out Lockheed Martin's decades of strategic ties to boost the Israeli Defence Force.

A former Abim leader told MalaysiaNow that Anwar was facing the same dilemma as when he served under Mahathir's first administration.

"When Mahathir brought him into Umno, he still had the image of this radical Muslim leader who led protests at the US embassy. He took pains to come out of it by frequenting groups linked to the US and avoiding to be seen with anti-West Muslim leaders such as those from Iran," he told MalaysiaNow.

"Anwar is someone who wants to be seen as a Muslim spokesman but at the same time friendly to the West. That is something impossible to achieve in the present climate of genocide."

He said he would not rule out the possibility that Washington had sent its two representatives with a publicly declared agenda to warn leaders it regards as allies to toe the line.

"It is in this context that one should read his dismissal of protests against the arms dealers, as well as his rousing welcome for a Zionist-friendly scholar," he added, referring to Al-Issa.