Foreign minister Mohamad Hasan says Shahrul Ikram Yaakob conveyed to US officials that the stance is a well-established national policy.
Foreign minister Mohamad Hasan said Shahrul Ikram Yaakob conveyed to US officials that the stance was a well-established national policy, reported Bernama.
“It has always been Malaysia’s policy. We do not recognise the state of Israel or the Zionist regime. This has long been our position.
“There was an individual with dual citizenship, US and Israeli, who entered Malaysia using his US passport. However, subsequent checks revealed that he also held Israeli citizenship, and we asked him to leave,” he told reporters in Rembau after a meet-and-greet session with Zaifulbahri Idris, Barisan Nasional’s candidate for the Chembong seat in the Negeri Sembilan state election.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reiterated that Malaysia would continue to bar Israeli citizens from entering the country despite objections raised by eight US congressmen.
Anwar said the policy was based on Malaysia’s commitment to defending Palestinian rights and opposing the continued killing of Palestinians in Gaza.
Eight Democratic congressmen have urged secretary of state Marco Rubio to review Washington’s security and economic ties with Malaysia and consider suspending US military training funding following Anwar’s remarks that Israeli citizens found in the country would be deported.
Anwar yesterday described the congressmen’s call as “misguided”, adding that it was clear the eight US lawmakers who mooted the idea were out of touch with global developments.
Israeli passport holders cannot enter Malaysia as Putrajaya does not have diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, three NGOs will hold a peaceful assembly and submit a memorandum of protest to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow to oppose the attempt by US members of Congress to pressurise Malaysia over its sovereign policies.
The three organisations are the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (Mapim), the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) and Pertubuhan Kebajikan Rakyat Sejagat Malaysia (Sejagat).
According to the programme poster issued by the organisers, the gathering is scheduled to begin at the Tabung Haji Mosque at 3pm after Friday prayers, before participants proceed to the embassy.
Participants have been urged to protest what is described as US political arrogance, while asserting that Malaysia has the right to determine its own foreign policy and entry policies. - FMT
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