‘Does Israel have a right to exist?’
This is a question that has seen more light of day since last year as the horror of Israeli war crimes unfolds in Gaza. The brutality of the genocide touches many hearts; some converted to Islam due to this, and some encamped their campuses and forced their universities to cut ties with Israel.
In the wake of much anger and frustration, pro-Zionist activists and media outlets are working overtime to soften the negative sentiment against the Jewish state, including asking the classing guilt-tripping question above. Well, for Europeans who are still haunted by the horror of the Holocaust, the answer is clear-cut: yes.
But not so for the rest of the world, particularly the Arab and Muslim world.
The question was asked to PM Anwar recently by Richard Quest of CNN. And Anwar's answer disappoints many Palestinian supporters after much fan-fare, virtue signalling and plane-bringing-injured-refugees level of solidarity his government displayed.
CNN: But you would accept, A: Israel's right to exist.
Anwar: Yes, yes.
CNN: And B: Israel's right to defend itself.
Anwar: Yes.
This should not come as a surprise, though. For those who still remember, Anwar created havoc in Parliament when he was nudged for his answer in an interview with Wall Street Journal that he "supports all efforts to protect the security of the state of Israel".
For his latest edition of Freudian slip (or was it not a slip?), it is already expected that Anwar would have all the answers pre-packaged when he faces the wrath of the opposition and the Malay-Muslim population. He would confidently ‘goreng’ his response in front of the opposition.
In his defence, Anwar is expected to goreng about the two-state solution that Muslim countries have supported, including Malaysia. But It was not too long ago that Anwar urged Israel to be expelled from the United Nations, and he said that to leaders of Muslim countries. So why the 180-degree turn?
The two-state solution is rendered pointless and a joke at the UN. With the large-scale bombardment that has killed more than 50,000 civilians, no one in the right mind should support the solution still.
Anwar's response reminds me of a very good article about him by Isham Rais, the self-proclaim ‘non-governmental individual’. In that article, Isham described Anwar as a ‘loyal colonial boy’ who subscribes to ‘whateverism’.
Isham allures that Anwar is a man of many faces, and he will speak about the teachings of prominent scholars such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Yet, when in a lighter environment, such as among casual drinkers, he entertains with performances, singing songs from Bollywood classics like Sangam.
This strategic adaptability has become a defining trait of Anwar’s leadership. While it may allow him to navigate Malaysia’s complex political and social landscape, it also raises questions about the sustainability of this whateverism as a governing principle.
It is no wonder that The Economist called Anwar Malaysia's chameleon back then. The Economist ran an article in August this year questioning whether the West had indeed backed the wrong leader. The article's tone was that of disappointment towards Anwar's reform effort.
Tun Mahathir, his mentor-turned-enemy-turned-allies-turned-enemy again, this may not come as a surprise. The nonagenarian statesman described Anwar as “all things to all people”, which he explained in the Keluar Sekejap Podcast.
“When he is with the Arabs, he sounds very religious. When he talks to the Americans, he agrees with liberalism. Whoever he talks to, he will suit it (his message) to the audience."
In another interview with Mehdi Hassan, Anwar surprised this country. He said that he disagreed with KDN's action in raiding Swatch's LGBT-edition watches, calling it an ‘overreaction’. One can only wonder what Saifuddin Nasution's reaction was when the interview was out.
So, back to the hot-button question. If ‘yes’ was not the answer that Anwar should give, how should he respond to Mr Quest?
Bassem Youssef, the famous Egypt-American comedian, offered his insight a little while ago. He said that this “useless” question served only as a moral checkpoint to avoid talking about the real problem, which is the genocidal military campaign of the Zionist regime against innocent Palestinians in Gaza.
It's a shame that PMX could not challenge the illegitimacy of that question when he had the chance to do so.
Ahmad Mustakim is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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