On 28 March 2024, the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, made a surprise announcement of an Israeli man in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, the day before. Considering that Malaysia does not recognise the Zionist state, the man's presence in Malaysia raised eyebrows. A further revelation was that when the police arrested the man, Shalom Avitan, they found in his possession six pistols and 200 rounds of ammunition. The revelation sparked further questions about whether he was an Israeli Mossad operator on an assassination mission. The IGP, in his press conference, also revealed that Shalom Avitan had confessed that he was trying to kill another Israeli man who had come into Malaysia for hiding after trying to kill Shalom Avitan or his family members with a grenade attack in Tel Aviv. The police have since arrested three other persons, all Malaysians, suspected of supplying the firearms to the Israeli man.
Before we delve deeper into the story, here is some background for a better context.
Israeli - Malaysia 'Non-Existent' Relationship
History
In June 1948, Malaya was reeling under the threat of a communist uprising. Suspected communist agents had executed three British planters in Sungai Siput, with two other planters narrowly escaping from the killing squad (Source: Boris Hembry, The Malayan Spymaster). The failure to prevent the communist uprising saw the Colonial Office recalling Sir Edward Gent to London. He died as his plane crashed into another plane while attempting to land in London.
The Colonial Office appointed Sir Henry Gurney to replace Sir Edward Gent as the High Commissioner of Malaya.
Sir Henry Gurney was a Foreign Office veteran. He was previously the High Commissioner of the British Mandate in Palestine. There, he failed to stem the Jewish uprising led by the Haganah, the Irgun, and the Stern gang. It was during his time as the High Commissioner that the tragic Deir Yassin massacre occurred on 9 April 1948. More than a hundred Arab civilians died in the massacre. Israeli records blamed him for instigating the Arabs against Israelis, while in Malaysia, some writers reviled him as the architect behind the Zionist expansion in Palestine, leading to the Nakba.
As the British exited Palestine, not only did Sir Henry Gurney lose his job, but hundreds of former British Mandate police officers, too, lost their jobs.
With his eventual appointment as the High Commissioner of Malaya, he appointed Colonel William Nicol Gray, a former British Mandate Police officer, as the Malayan Chief of Police. At least 200 hundred experienced police officers followed him to beef up the Malayan Police Force that took the fight to the communist insurgents.
Ascension into the United Nations
When the British finally decided to grant independence to Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman revealed in his book that Israel was amongst the earliest countries to support its admission into the United Nations. However, he did not pursue any further approach with the Tel Aviv regime as he saw their mistreatment of the Arabs. Therefore, Malaysia never established any diplomatic relationship with Israel.
Diplomacy
Despite not recognising Israel, Israelis have entered Malaysia on many occasions. Many Israeli tourists have flaunted their visits to Kuala Lumpur on social media. Nusier Yassin of the Nas Daily is the most infamous of these Israelis, who entered Malaysia using a Caribbean passport.
Sporting Event
On one occasion, the Malaysian government allowed Israelis to attend sporting events. In 1997, then Prime Minister Tun Mahathir allowed an Israeli cricket team to attend a competition in Malaysia despite massive protests. However, he declined their entries when a similar opportunity presented itself in 2019 with the International Paralympics.
MV Marmara
In 2010, two Malaysian journalists and ten other Malaysian humanitarian relief aid workers were on the MV Marmara, an international aid ship attempting to enter Gaza to provide relief aid, when Israeli Navy commandos boarded the ship, shooting dead ten Turkish activists, including an American Turkish activist. The Israelis released the Malaysian volunteers a day later after the Turkish government's intervention.
Economic Relationship
Despite not having any diplomatic ties, the two countries do have an underground trade. Malaysia recorded a total of USD9.99m in exports in 2021 while importing goods amounting to USD9.01m in the same period.
However, Malaysians have been at the forefront of an international attempt to boycott international companies that have traded in Israel via the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions, or BDS.
Read part 2 for past incidents involving suspected Israeli involvement in Malaysia.
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