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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim joins the crowd at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Kuala Lumpur. Photo/REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia, like Indonesia, is an ASEAN country that actively supports Palestine to become an independent state. This support is evenly distributed, from demonstrations by ordinary people to the diplomatic maneuvers of Prime Minister (PM) Anwar Ibrahim.
The Malaysian public movement to defend Palestine has emerged after the Israel-Hamas war broke out on 7 October 2023. They, according to the assessment of the international community, view Israel's brutal invasion of the Gaza Strip as a response to the Hamas attack on 7 October as beyond the pale.
Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7 killed more than 1,200 people, according to official figures from the Zionist regime. Apart from that, Hamas also kidnapped hundreds of people and took them to Gaza as prisoners.
Meanwhile, Israel's military response has so far killed more than 31,000 Palestinians in Gaza—most of them civilians.
In addition, infrastructure was destroyed and famine struck. Many consider the Zionist military response to be categorized as genocide.
Malaysian People's Action to Defend Palestine
Throughout March, thousands of Malaysians took to various streets in Kuala Lumpur to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The crowd called for a ceasefire in Gaza while waving Palestinian flags and various posters supporting Palestine.
Not only that, they also expressed their anger towards Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu with a poster depicting him as a Nazi leader complete with a Swastika symbol.
The daughter of Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, Nurul Izzah Anwar, took part in the people's action and urged other citizens to join.