On the outset, it has to be said unequivocally and unambiguously - all right-thinking Malaysians abhor violence. This country has never been involved in any international armed conflict except as mediators and peacekeepers.
All form of violence against fellow humans, especially innocent women and children, must be abhorred, condemned and loathed. No two ways about it.
However, the current hysteria and hypocrisy must stop or strategies be revised. Over the past week, individuals and groups have been speaking out and showing their anger at what is happening in Gaza and rightly so.
By the same token, where were all these people when women and children were killed and maimed in Lebanon? The was silence when Syria was decimated and thousands killed. Closer to home, the military junta in Myanmar is killing protestors but the voices are just whisperings because of the ‘abang-adik’ Asean solidarity.
While Dr Mahathir Mohamed was quick to comment on the Kashmiri issues, none was said anything about the genocide in Sri Lanka which killed more than 160,000 people, including women and children.
All and sundry are issuing press statements calling for a stop to the bombings and killings but if the Israelis refuse to heed the call from the United Nations, will they listen to a bunch of Malaysians? The makers of these statements would be dismissed as jesters or empty barrels.
Shouldn’t we be walking the talk instead of just doing lip service? Yes, the words “Israel” and “Zionists” are offensive and undesirable to the majority of our citizens. By extension, the United States too has been included because they support the regime in Tel Aviv.
Are these words and actions from the heart or a token show of protests? Since we don’t have any diplomatic relations with Israel, it is assumed that we don’t trade with them. But this is far from the truth.
In June 2010, we investigated and uncovered an active two-way trade between the two countries. Despite the perception that Israel is a rogue state and trade is barred, we published details of Israel ships calling at Port Klang since 1998.
Known only within the trade and government circles, Malaysia last year imported goods, mostly electrical and electronic equipment, worth US$6.81 (RM27.5) million from Israel. But during the peak years - 2012-2015 - Malaysia imported over US$5 billion (RM20 billion) worth of Israeli goods.
(These statistics were obtained from TradingEconomics.com which provides its users with accurate information for 196 countries including historical data and forecasts for more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, stock market indexes, government bond yields and commodity prices. It states: “Our data is based on official sources, not third-party data providers, and our facts are regularly checked for inconsistencies...”)
In 2014, The Times (of Israel) trumpeted: “Malaysia favours Palestinians but buys from Israel” in its headline.
The newspaper reported: “Total trade between the two countries in 2013 reached US$1.529 billion, almost double that of 2012. That figure consists mostly of Israeli exports, at US$1.457 billion. Trade continues to accelerate: Between January and July this year, Israeli exports to Malaysia soared to US$884.7 million, a 27% jump over the same period last year.”
As recent as May last year, a business website reported that Israeli technology was used in GE14 campaign. FocusM reported that the BN government under Najib Razak had entered into an agreement in 2018 to purchase equipment to monitor the movements of the then opposition Pakatan Harapan leaders. This report has not been denied.
Boycott campaigns
Away from the trade, there seems to be a campaign, albeit a half-hearted one, to pressure domestic traders and manufacturers on Israel by boycotting American brands. Previous attempts had fallen flat and organisers had egg on their faces.
Some background: Way back in 2002, the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) tried to convince members of the Malaysian Indian Muslim Restaurants Owners Association to stop selling Coca Cola as a form of protest against Israeli atrocities. It didn’t work.
Another campaign in 2007 flopped and a third also failed. This was in 2017, when former US President Donald Trump reversed decades of US policy by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
All these have hardly caused a dent let alone a scratch in the bottler’s bottom line or its image – steadfastly maintaining it that “it does not support or oppose religious causes or favour one country over another anywhere in the world.”.
The restaurateurs could ill-afford to forgo not only their profits but also other goodies in the form of business paraphernalia like glasses and coolers to support their trade.
Over the past two days, a video clip has gone viral showing PPIM president Nadzim Johan removing bottles of soft drinks from a cooler in an Indian Muslim restaurant in Kuala Lumpur and again calling for a boycott of Coca Cola.
Yet, there was another call for a boycott of McDonald's on social media. Both these companies collectively employ over 100,000 people directly and indirectly - most of whom are Muslims. Assuming the boycott succeeds, these employees will be on the streets.
This opinion is not to throw a wet blanket on one’s right to protest or boycott but it can’t be done superficially. You can’t just expect people to follow blindly just by watching the video and the rhetoric in it.
It may make good copy for newspapers and these actions will find five minutes of fame for Nadzim on television, but what happens thereafter? Nothing. In a few days, the bottles will be back on the shelves and there will a long line waiting for their Big Mac.
By the way, if you should know, Waze uses Israeli technology and components and systems on your smartphones and computers come from the same country. Would you stop using them? Or would you stop watching football on the telly because Coca Cola and McDonald's are sponsors of the World Cup and other sporting events?
In conclusion, I repeat what I penned on Aug 25, 2015: “So, with all the rhetoric on ‘Jewish conspiracies’; ‘ban on Israeli goods’ and ‘boycott the oppressive regime’, trade (between the two countries) is thriving and growing too.
“What are the sloganeering politicians going to do about practising what they preach? Does lining the pockets of businessmen take precedence over a principle and policy which this country has been advocating locally and internationally?
“What purpose does all the noise being made at the United Nations and other international forums serve when we are condoning the flourishing trade?”
Perhaps, after all these years can we expect some answers but the government’s philosophy of maintaining elegant silence is a given. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN says that history tells us boycotts have not and will never work in this country. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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