by HIDAYATH HISHAM / pic TMR FILE

MALAYSIA has received three “demarches”, or diplomatic notices from the United States (US) embassy over its vocal stance in support of Palestinian militant group Hamas, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.

He said Malaysia was asked in three separate notices—sent to Wisma Putra on Oct 13, Oct 18, and Oct 30—to modify its position and give up classifying Hamas as a non-terrorist group.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also received a ‘demarche’ from the United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur for Malaysia to use diplomatic channels to ask a country not to take advantage of the conflict situation by using proxies to get involved in the fighting in Gaza.

“I also spoke at a recent event last week, and I emphasised that Malaysia remains steadfast in our independent stance, our humanitarian considerations, and our view of the (Israeli) invasion as unlawful from both a legal and international perspective,” he said during Prime Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.

As a sovereign and independent country, Anwar asserted that Malaysia has the right to voice the country’s views on current issues, especially those involving universal human rights.

The prime minister said despite the possibility of being faced with reprimands or warnings from any party, Malaysia will not succumb to any form of intimidation.

Malaysia’s firm stance was also shared with 119 member countries of the United Nations (UN) during the Emergency Meeting of the UN Security Council on 27 Oct.

On Oct 7, during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, Hamas launched a surprise attack from Gaza, which saw a barrage of rockets being fired towards Israel and armed individuals breaching security barriers.

In response, Israel retaliated with air strikes and military operations.

At least 8,306 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s attacks on Gaza while the death toll in Israel has exceeded 1,400.