Why I support Anwar's position on Israel's right to exist

I truly believe that I speak for all non-Muslims in Malaysia when I say that non-Muslims in Malaysia generally do not have a very negative view of Israel or a very positive view of Palestine as Muslims do.

We just see Israel and Palestine as two nations at war, just as we see Ukraine and Russia at war. In most cases, we see it as a foreign war in which we do not want to actively participate, just as we do not want to actively participate in the war between Ukraine and Russia.

When we see the sincere conviction of Muslims that Palestine is right while Israel is evil, we think that Muslims in this country only take such a position because they identify very strongly with the Palestinians.

In other words, we see this as a case of a family member supporting a family member at a time when said family member is engaged in a life and death struggle against an outsider, rather than a case of a good person supporting the side that is right and good on principle.

Does our understanding of the position of Muslims mean that we support their position? No.

While we understand that Muslims would like Malaysia to play a more active role in supporting Palestine in the conflict, we believe that Malaysia has already done too much for the war in the Middle East.

We find the Muslim position disturbing because we actually see Israel as the much stronger side. While we believe that we should not participate in wars in which we are not involved, we believe even more that if we are forced to participate in such a war, we should not choose the obviously weaker side against a much stronger side when we are not even sure who is right or wrong.

We can only support their wishes if they aim to make Malaysia a peace broker in the war.

If Malaysia is to become a peace broker, then we believe that what Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a recent interview with CNN - agreeing that Israel has the right to defend itself and that Israel has a right to exist - is the correct preliminary position for Malaysia to take.

I honestly believe that there are only two options where the Palestinian people are not completely wiped out.

In the first case, the entire Muslim world should join forces to raise a Muslim army capable of either defeating the Israelis or forcing them to negotiate peace. There are 49 Muslim-majority countries and two billion Muslims in the world. If every Muslim in the world contributed just US$1,000 to this  endeavour, the Muslim world would have US$2 trillion to raise an army that could confront the Israelis.

If Malaysia wants to be part of a multinational effort to raise such funds to build an international army capable of confronting Israel with strength, then I believe that the non-Muslims in Malaysia are probably willing to go along with the endeavour because not only does such an endeavour have a practical likelihood of ending the war in Gaza, it will not put us in a position where we feel that we are supporting the losing side.

In the second case, Malaysia should do more to convince Palestine that it is the weaker side and force it to make peace with Israel by accepting whatever terms  offered by Israel, as long as the terms are not humiliating to the Palestinian nation and people.

The way the world works, it is the losers who have to sue for peace, while it is the winners who set the terms.

If the weaker side refuses to accept its weakness, even if it is obvious, then the result will be the complete annihilation of the weaker side.