Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim threatened today to deport any Israeli citizen found in the Southeast Asian country, as Kuala Lumpur does not recognize Israel, which it accuses of committing crimes against the Palestinian people.
According to the state news agency Bernama, the Prime Minister made this statement when questioned by reporters regarding reports alleging that individuals with dual citizenship, including Israeli, were in Johor, in southern Malaysia.
“We are investigating… we will not allow it. If there is any case, action will be taken. If there are Israeli citizens, given that we do not recognize Israel, they will be deported immediately,” he assured.
Anwar also confirmed that all security agencies are conducting an investigation into “reports that Israeli citizens have been detected in Malaysia”.
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The regional government of Johor urged the Ministry of Home Affairs and other government agencies on Tuesday to investigate the operations of a school in Forest City—located on the border with Singapore and facing the Johor Strait—a city developed over the last decade with the backing of Chinese capital, Bernama reported.
It is estimated that Israeli citizens are involved in the school, the official agency added, although their specific roles remain unclear.
“Previously, allegations circulated on social media that foreigners with Israeli passports and citizenship documents from other countries had attempted to enter or were present in Malaysia for certain purposes,” the report concluded.
Anwar, in power since November 2022, has repeatedly criticized the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the offensive in Gaza—launched in October 2023 following deadly attacks by the Islamist group Hamas—and stated that the authorities of the Jewish state show a “profound contempt for peace.”
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Malaysia—just like Indonesia, the country with the world’s largest Muslim population—does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel and is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause.
The Malaysian Immigration Department clarifies on its website that no citizen of Israel or North Korea may apply for an entry visa to the Southeast Asian nation, a region visited annually by thousands of Israelis, particularly neighboring Thailand.
