Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met with top Hamas leaders in Qatar just days after a U.S. Treasury delegation visited Malaysia to express concerns about the Palestinian group’s fundraising activities in the country.
On the final day of his three-day visit to Qatar, where he attended the Qatar Economic Forum, Anwar met with a Hamas delegation led by political chief Ismail Haniyeh and former chairman Khaled Mashal.
In a Facebook post, Anwar praised Hamas for its willingness to release hostages and called on the Israeli government to release all Palestinian prisoners and agree to a peace plan.
“Malaysia remains committed to playing its role on the international stage to end the attacks on Rafah,”
Anwar wrote, referring to the city in southern Gaza currently under siege by the Israeli military.
During the meeting, Anwar also requested that Hamas consider various viewpoints to seek a swift and peaceful resolution to the Gaza conflict, according to a report by the Malaysian state media agency Bernama. The report also mentioned that Anwar discussed the conflict with two senior Qatari leaders.
This trip to Qatar followed a visit by a U.S. Treasury Department delegation, including Brian Nelson, its chief sanctions policy officer, to Malaysia to address concerns that Iran is using Malaysian entities to finance militant groups, including Hamas. During the meeting, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail stated that Malaysia would not recognize U.S. economic sanctions on Iran and would only enforce sanctions authorized by the United Nations Security Council.
Anwar has been vocally critical of Israel since the onset of the current conflict. At a large pro-Palestine rally in Kuala Lumpur several weeks after Hamas assaults southern Israel, Anwar denounced Israel’s response as “the height of barbarism” and called for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
What sets Anwar apart from other leaders who have criticized Israel is his willingness to engage openly with Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S., and many Western nations. In October, shortly after Hamas’ incursions into southern Israel, Anwar spoke with Haniyeh, expressing Malaysia’s unwavering support for the Palestinian people.
This reflects a strong domestic political consensus in Malaysia, where support for the Palestinian cause is robust, and senior Hamas officials have long been warmly received by Malaysian politicians. Yesterday’s meeting was the first face-to-face encounter Anwar has had with Haniyeh since taking office in late 2022, although he met with him several times while in opposition.
In this context, the meeting can be seen as a statement of independence from Malaysia’s Western partners, particularly the United States, which has expressed concerns about his engagement with Hamas.
For Anwar, maintaining ties with Hamas is also a domestic political necessity. He claimed last year that he faced U.S. pressure to sever ties with the Palestinian group. Being outflanked on Gaza by right-wing Malay-Islamist opponents would be politically damaging, as would appearing to capitulate to Western pressure to moderate Malaysia’s support for the Palestinian cause.
“You don’t tell me who I should meet or who I should not,”
Anwar stated during a Q&A session with Bloomberg News at the Qatar Economic Forum.
In the Bernama report, Anwar adopted a more conciliatory tone, acknowledging that the meeting might be controversial among his Western partners.
“Our approach is to engage with the political body of Hamas without participating in any military activities,”
he was quoted as saying.
“This is what we want to clarify, and I believe our [Western] friends will raise this issue.”
