Israel and India must address Hamas strongholds in Malaysia – opinion

Malaysia’s anti-Israel and pro-Islamist forces now openly allow Malaysia to become a safe haven for terror.

By Abhinav Pandya, Middle East Forum

In January 2024, I asked a senior Israeli diplomat about reports that some Hamas leaders were relocating to Malaysia because of the military action in Gaza.

He replied, “Good for us and bad for you. … Malaysia is too far from us.” The danger of Hamas, however, should not be an either-or equation; Hamas poses a danger wherever it finds safe haven.

Israel and India and, indeed, all democracies have a mutual interest in confronting Malaysia’s growing permissives to terror. Make no mistake: Malaysia is becoming a terror cheerleader, if not sponsor.

Israel-Malaysia ties have not always been so strained. Israel supported Malaysia’s 1957 independence from Great Britain, supported the new country’s entry into the United Nations, and traded with it.

Malaysia’s inaugural prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, however, was an Islamist and turned away from the Jewish state.

Malaysia was the first South Asian nation to extend full diplomatic recognition to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Visiting Kuala Lumpur in the 1980s and 1990s, Yasser Arafat ranked the southeast Asian nation higher than Arab states.

Since then, Malaysia has lobbied for Palestine at the United Nations, and offered humanitarian aid to Palestinian organizations. Prime Minister Najib Razak (2009-2018) cultivated ties with Hamas and even visited the Gaza Strip in 2013. Today, Malaysia manages a $17 million trust for Palestinians.

As of today, Malaysia views Hamas as a legitimate and elected representative of Gazans. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has emerged as one of the harshest critics of Israel after the October 7, 2023, attacks, calling Jerusalem’s military action the “height of barbarism.”

For decades, Malaysia has required Israeli passport holders to receive written permission from Malaysia’s Ministry of Home Affairs to enter the country.

Ethnic Malay Muslims constitute 60 percent of Malaysia’s population. Though many Indian security analysts and strategic thinkers continue to view Malaysia as a tolerant and peaceful Islamic country that retains and celebrates its Hindu heritage, this ignores the radicalization Malay society has undergone.

Malaysian foreign policy reflects this Islamist population’s instincts and seeks to promote Islamic solidarity.

In his whirlwind tour to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran shortly after the Hamas attacks, Ibrahim advocated for convening an emergency Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting to support the Palestinians.

Antisemitism and irrational hatred of Israel catalyze Malaysia’s support for Hamas. Massive pro-Palestinian street protests are common; Ibrahim headlined one.

People boycotted fast-food establishments like McDonald’s, which they perceived to have ties with Israel and the United States. Just as in Pakistan and now Bangladesh, politicians seek to use religious identity to unify ethnic Malays.

In practice, this means bolstering Islamist credentials, projecting anti-Western narratives, and depicting non-Muslims as a threat to Islam. This trickles down in various ways.

Ibrahim’s education ministry, for example, organized the Palestinian Solidarity Week program in schools and colleges after Israeli retaliation for the Hamas attacks.

Malaysia’s anti-Israel and pro-Islamist forces now openly allow Malaysia to become a safe haven for terror. Hamas sent 15 members to Malaysia for a week-long paragliding training in 2010.

After the Qataris forced Hamas leadership to leave, many prominent Hamas leaders shifted to Malaysia, even as others chose Iran, Russia, and Turkey.

Hamas’s military wing has run operations from Malaysia, though this now comes with consequences. In 2018, Fadi Mohammad Al-Batash, a Hamas expert on suicide drones and rocket systems, was shot dead in Malaysia.

Malaysia-based security analysts say on condition of anonymity that Hamas and Hezbollah both continue their robust local penetration.

Some Israelis may believe that what happens in Malaysia will stay in Malaysia because of the security of distance, but this could be a fatal conceit. Hamas will use Malaysia as a critical base to mobilize resources and resuscitate itself.

Nor will they achieve this alone. Pakistan’s Interservice Intelligence (ISI) agency maintains an active presence in Malaysia and coordinates with Hamas.

Israel is not the only country threatened by Malaysia’s permissiveness to terror. The ISI uses Malaysia as a base to support Kashmiri jihadist groups and to conduct meetings.

Following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to normalize Jammu and Kashmir’s governance as a union territory, Malaysia emerged as one of India’s staunchest critics alongside Turkey and Pakistan.

The three countries formally announced the creation of a global Islamic television channel. Notably, Hamas’s growing ties with Kashmiri jihadists and its outreach with Indian Islamist organizations like Popular Front of India make the strengthening presence of Hamas in Malaysia a cause for concern for New Delhi.

Certainly, India and Israel should further their counter-terror cooperation. But countering Palestinian terror groups in Malaysia should be not only a foreign interest; it should be a Malaysian one as well.

Countries like Qatar and Turkey suffer reputationally for allowing Hamas free reign. Allowing terrorists safe haven has undermined Lebanese, Iranian, and Pakistani security, and led investors to flee, fearing instability, violence, or sanctions.

At 77 years old, Ibrahim may not see the consequences of pursuing pro-terror policies, but Malaysians undoubtedly will suffer.