Malaysia’s Anwar talks Gaza, Hamas ties and ‘totally insane’ US-Israel nexus

It’s a position that resonates widely within his Muslim-majority country. But it also puts him at odds with the Western administrations who once garlanded him as a champion of democracy.

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Now, he criticises his old friends for backing Israel’s assault on Gaza – even risking being seen as a Hamas apologist after the group’s deadly October 7 attack that sparked the war.

His stance has strained ties between Malaysia and the US, a key trade and investment partner. But analysts say it reflects Anwar’s long-standing personal support for Palestine, which took root during his days as a student activist in the 1970s.

Malaysia’s diplomatic campaign to shame Western capitals into reining in their Israeli ally has now hit a ceiling, however, and Anwar says only the US wields sufficient clout to tell Israel to stop the war.

“The atrocities continue. We have done the maximum of what a small country can do.”

From the outset, Malaysia has made clear its opposition to a conflict that has claimed more than 37,000 lives so far, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry, and displaced over 2 million Palestinians.

Israel has vowed no let up on its assault until it wipes out the group responsible for killing around 1,200 people on October 7 and taking some 250 others hostage.

Malaysia is among the handful of countries that refuse to formally recognise Israel, although the Southeast Asian nation has conducted limited trade with the Middle Eastern power.

Anwar’s ties to Palestine long predate his tenure as Malaysia’s prime minister.

As a founding leader of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM), he championed the Palestinian cause at