PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wasted no time in giving a prompt reply to some members of the US Congress who want Malaysia to reverse what they perceived is its “anti-Semitic” policy towards Israel.
As expected, the PMX reiterated the unchanging stand of Malaysia, specifically barring Israeli nationals from entering the country.
The lawmakers have given Malaysia 15 days to change its “anti-Semitic” policy, failing which they would urge the Trump administration to review economic ties with Malaysia in addition to suspending American aid.
But Anwar remained unfazed.
“That (ultimatum) will not deter us. They may issue threats but I will firmly defend the rights of Malaysians and uphold the government’s decision to continue prohibiting the entry of any Israeli nationals into Malaysia,” he reportedly said.
Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil also opened fire on the Congress members by describing their actions as “rude” for apparently “interfering in our country’s sovereignty”.
Recall that under the now defunct US-Malaysia Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), there is a controversial provision that critics said “subordinates our foreign policy to Washington’s interests”, thereby undermining Malaysia’s sovereignty.
If ART inked by Anwar and US President Donald Trump during the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur last November were still in force, the US legislators would have undoubtedly invoked the provision because Malaysia did not comply with Washington’s interests in that it did not change its anti-Israeli policy.
They would have probably recommended harsh trade measures against Putrajaya. Or even proposed that Malaysian citizens be prohibited from entering the US.
It takes two to tango
The ultimatum announced on July 22 will end on Aug 6, of which during that period more developments could crop up as both sides seize up their respective position.
Anwar has delivered his unequivocal stand and there is no way he will back down. And there is no chance in hell that the US will abandon its ally Israel.
Nevertheless, matters cannot be allowed to fester. Malaysia must still deal with the US given that the latter is our second-largest trading partner who still wields enormous influence on the world stage.
Anwar has reportedly said that “if we want to seek help in resolving the (Gaza) conflict, I don’t know who else we could turn to (except Trump)”.
Trump will have no problem reaching out to the premier since their cordial meeting during the ASEAN Summit in October 2025. After all, the American president has publicly called the Malaysian leader a “very good man”.
Anwar and Trump are politicians and they know how to play the game of diplomacy to defuse a crisis – big or small. They can clear the dust kicked up by the American legislators by resorting to diplomacy rather than to deliver hard-hitting rhetorics.
Anwar has clearly spelt out our foreign policy: Malaysia does not recognise the state of Israel because of “Israel’s brutality, oppression and occupation”. But it is not against the Jewish people.
Thus, this dichotomy – not recognising Israel but not against the Jews – should serve as a starting point for Washington to accommodate Putrajaya’s policy.
‘Ball is in White House court’
Perhaps, the US Congressmen had overly reacted to what might seem as a harsh statement from Anwar in the wake of the Network School incident.
The school – a tech commune in Forest City, Johor Baru – made headlines when allegations surfaced on social media that it was hosting some Israeli nationals who had purportedly entered Malaysia illegally using a second passport.
Anwar’s remarks that the authorities would “hunt down and deport” these Jewish nationals gave the impression that the latter had perpetrated some unspeakable, horrendous crime and must be tracked down to safeguard national security.
It also had been misconstrued that the Jews were being unfairly targetted based solely on their nationality.
Since Anwar has delivered his prompt reply, Malaysia must wait for Trump to make his move upon expiry of the deadline.
Will Trump bow down to the wishes of the lawmakers? If he does, will he impose more punitive tariff hikes on Malaysia? Or implement debilitating trade sanctions that will severely cripple the economy?
So, now the ball is in the White House court. It is up to Trump to decide whether to play ball with the “rude” Congressmen or resort to diplomacy and try to reach some sort of a resolution with Anwar on the Israeli question.
Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.
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