Public Pressure: How the Malaysian Government Harasses Companies Supporting ‘Israel’

The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has provided a strong impetus to prevent Israeli Occupation from reaping any economic benefits from Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country in Southeast Asia and a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause.

Given Malaysia's long history of anti-Israeli Occupation policies, the ongoing aggression on Gaza since October 7, 2023, has allowed it to escalate this stance.

Diplomatic Action

Initially, Kuala Lumpur barred Israeli shipping companies from docking at any of its ports, in parallel with the unwavering public support of Malaysians for the Palestinians.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was among the Malaysian crowds when they gathered on October 24, 2023, at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza against Israeli Occupation crimes.

Notably, Malaysia has remained vigilant about any Israel-related activities within its borders that might support the Israeli military efforts against Palestinians.

In this context, Intelligence Online reported on May 13, 2024, that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had compiled a blacklist of defense contractors accused of supporting the Israeli war effort.

This decision led to a notable diplomatic and commercial move during his visit to the Defense Services Asia trade show, though it does not mean Malaysia will cease all dealings with these companies.

Since the onset of Israeli aggression, Malaysia has been one of the staunchest supporters of the Palestinian cause. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of over 36,000 people, most of whom were children and women, alongside massive infrastructure destruction and the displacement of approximately 1.5 million Gaza residents from their homes due to military operations.

According to a report by Intelligence Online, Malaysian Prime Minister's officials exhibited notable behavior when their leader visited the Asian Defense Services Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur on May 6 of that year.

Every time Ibrahim approached certain defense platforms, his security personnel and officials went to great lengths to prevent any photos of him with the company logo in the background from being taken, according to the magazine.

When journalists managed to capture some of these photos, the prime minister's team requested their deletion, a scenario that repeated itself in front of the platforms of companies like Leonardo and Lockheed Martin, among others.

The magazine noted that this was a political decision by Anwar Ibrahim's team. In preparation for the exhibition, his government compiled a list of defense companies deemed Zionist, whose platforms the prime minister would not visit at the exhibition.

The list included American companies such as Lockheed Martin, Colt, Harris Corporation, ShieldAlloy, and MBDA Europe for missile manufacturing, as well as Saab of Sweden for laser sighting devices and BAE Systems in the United Kingdom, and the Italian company Leonardo. However, it did not include Israeli companies.

The list, which was not intended for public release, was an attempt by Anwar Ibrahim's office to respond to strong Malaysian support for Palestinians, with the government planning to continue dealing with essential companies, excluding those on the list.

The Malaysian government faced political pressure from some parties following the outbreak of Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Before the opening of the trade show, the opposition National Trust Party (BERSATU), co-founded by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and led by current leader Mohiuddin Yassin, called for the exclusion of companies supplying weapons to “Israel.”

This came following a social media campaign by the Malaysia branch of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement.

The Palestinian cause is a major political issue in Kuala Lumpur, where renewed supportive demonstrations took place on May 4, 2024, with some participants wearing Palestinian keffiyeh in support of Hamas, whose one of the largest foreign offices is located in the Malaysian capital.

Popular Pressure

Since the start of Israeli aggression on Gaza, Anwar Ibrahim's government has taken a series of decisions, which critics say indicate a departure from the "absolute non-tolerance policies" adopted by previous governments towards “Israel.”

In May 2024, the Prime Minister defended his government's decision to allow a number of American defense companies accused of complicity in Israeli war crimes to participate in the two defense trade shows in Asia and national security in Asia.

However, Ibrahim's visit to the exhibition and his handling, along with his personal aides, of some participating companies, sent several political messages, especially to Malaysians.

He was accused of disregarding public sentiment by engaging a company allegedly connected to “Israel” to manage the country's airports.

Critics urged Anwar Ibrahim, a prominent advocate for the Palestinian cause, to avoid commercial deals with entities "supporting genocide" to the extent that he faced pressure to abandon the airport deal with BlackRock due to its weapon links with “Israel.”

The Malaysian government faces pressure to drop a company owned by the giant American investment firm BlackRock from a plan to transform the country's largest airport operator into a private company.

This time, about twenty groups affiliated with the Employees' Provident Fund Organization, a retirement fund under the Ministry of Finance led by Anwar Ibrahim, urged an end to any arrangement with the mentioned company.

In a statement on May 24, 2024, the group said, "Our call comes in light of the ongoing genocide committed by Israel against innocent civilians in Gaza, and the need for our government and government-linked companies to realize their humanitarian commitment to end any potential complicity in genocide and genocide crimes."

The group described BlackRock as "benefiting from genocide" and pointed to its involvement in the American military-industrial complex.

“The company has also heavily invested in Israel, starting its operations there since 2016, and by continuing to do so, it refuses to acknowledge Israel's policies of apartheid and genocide against Palestinians."

The CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, was mentioned as "a supporter of Israeli genocide against Palestinians."

The role of BlackRock in bolstering the Israeli economy and arms industry has been well documented.

Internal Concern

BlackRock is also the second-largest shareholder in companies like McDonald's and Starbucks, fast-food and café chains that are also targets of the global BDS movement against “Israel,” including in Malaysia.

The Malaysian Employees’ Provident Fund group pointed to Zionist lobby efforts in the United States to suppress Palestinian voices through "rampant financial influence" and "violent suppression" of protests, including during student protests, where police raided universities to disperse camps protesting Israeli genocide.

They said that Zionist groups in the United States demonstrate "how Zionist money is used as a weapon."

In this context, political analyst Azmi Hassan told MalaysiaNow on May 21, 2024, that "there is concern over BlackRock's involvement in managing airports in Malaysia and outsourcing an external company to manage access control, which is sensitive."

"Secondly, the concern arises from BlackRock's involvement with Lockheed Martin, which supplies Israel with weapons for use in its war on Gaza."

Among the companies BlackRock invested in is Lockheed Martin, in which it holds a 7.4% stake.

Lockheed Martin, a U.S.-based defense company with billions of dollars in investments in the Israeli arms and space industry, made headlines in Malaysia after pro-Palestinian groups protested its participation in the Asian Defense Services Exhibition and National Security Exhibition.

On May 17, 2024, local media quoted Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as saying that reports claiming 25% of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad would be owned by a "Zionist-supporting" company were unfounded, without naming the company.

BlackRock is the world's largest asset management company. Its website states that the company, headquartered in New York, manages assets worth $9.09 trillion globally as of March 2023.

As a result, Malaysia, which opened the first Asian office for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1969 and has yet to establish official relations with “Israel,” has taken proactive steps in supporting Gaza.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on December 20, 2023, that Malaysia would prohibit the Israeli shipping company, ZIM, from docking at any of its ports.

In a statement, the Prime Minister said, "This decision is in response to Israel's actions that violate fundamental humanitarian principles and international laws."

He noted that the Cabinet had allowed ZIM-owned ships to dock in Malaysia in 2002 and 2005, but the current government decided to revoke all previous Cabinet decisions.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Malaysia is confident that these decisions "will not adversely affect" the country's business activities.