Friends like these

KUALA LUMPUR: Anwar Ibrahim’s recent statement in support of Israel’s security has won him some praise in Israel and yet more criticism in Malaysia.

Malaysian blogger Benchmark pointed out in his blog on February 21 that a contributing writer to The Jerusalem Post recently “went to town celebrating the Malaysian opposition leader’s defence of the Tel Aviv regime, which was carried by The Wall Street Journal recently.”

In that article, Michael Ordman – who also maintains a blog called Good News From Israel – said, “And from the political world, I personally liked the news of the high regard that Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim gave to the Jewish State when asked whether he would open diplomatic ties with Israel.”

Benchmark said, “Ordman sits high on the Israeli media’s credibility chain for his efforts in highlighting the regime’s latest achievements in the fields of technology, health, business, co-existence and building the Jewish State.”

The blogger pointed out this was not the first time Anwar has received praise in the Israeli press.

“Back in March 2008,” he wrote, “ jpost.com journalist Shani Ross wrote a piece titled ‘Anwar Ibrahim: Malaysia’s Future Prime Minister?’ which unabashedly heaped praise on Anwar’s perceived resounding victory in the 12^th General Election.”

“According to Ross, Anwar’s win had given him the much needed boost for the erstwhile Deputy Prime Minister to redeem his shine on the political road.”

In the same post, as well as his previous post, the blogger described the ‘two-state solution’ mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article as “an idea lobbied by Jewish apologist organisations”.

While several Arab states recognise Israel, he said, “the ‘two states solution’ as suggested by Anwar was rejected by many including PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, Dr Azzam Tarmizi of Ikhwan Muslimin and Palestine Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.”

“Why, even the Syura Council of PAS demanded that Anwar retract his statement or sue WSJ over the matter,” he added.

Another Malaysian blogger, Big Cat, said he was "lost for words" regarding Pas spiritual advisor Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat's decision to stand by Anwar in spite of the latter's remarks on Israeli security and the two-state solution.

"I wonder what Nik Adli, the son of Nik Aziz has to say about all this," the blogger said in a February 21post, 'Israel's Malaysian allies'.

"Nik Adli, who fought alongside the Afghan Mujahideen forces against the Soviets in the late 1980s," he continued, "was detained under ISA from 2001 to 2006 for being suspected of leading the Kumpulan Mujaheedin Malaysia[.]"

The blogger pointed out that another KMM figure, Zulkifli Abdul Khir, had been spurred to militancy by horrific accounts of the massacre at Shabra and Shatila in Lebanon in 1982.

Big Cat's post included an article by British journalist Robert Fisk, recalling the aftermath of that event. Fisk wrote:

"The guilty were certainly Christian militiamen - from which particular unit we were still unsure - but the Israelis were also guilty. If the Israelis had not taken part in the killings, they had certainly sent militia into the camp. They had trained them, given them uniforms, handed them US army rations and Israeli medical equipment. Then they had watched the murderers in the camps, they had given them military assistance - the Israeli airforce had dropped all those flares to help the men who were murdering the inhabitants of Sabra and Chatila - and they had established military liason with the murderers in the camps."

The blogger added, "And then there are Gaza and the other Palestinian occupied territories."

Source: MOLE