Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced on July 15 that Malaysia would deport Israeli citizens found in the country, citing Malaysia’s longstanding non-recognition of Israel and its policies toward Palestinians [1, 2, 3]. Eight US Democratic congressmen led by Greg Landsman sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 21–22 urging a review of US security and economic relations with Malaysia. They called for suspending the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program funding if Malaysia did not reverse the deportation policy within 15 days [1, 4, 2, 3].
The lawmakers described Anwar’s deportation remarks as discriminatory and possibly antisemitic. Landsman said, "It is totally unacceptable that a head of government has publicly declared that his country will hunt down and expel citizens of our close ally based solely on their nationality. It should not be underwritten by the American taxpayer." He added that US aid comes with the expectation Malaysia would not target citizens of a close US ally [1, 3].
IMET provides professional military training annually to about 50 Malaysian personnel under US security assistance programs [1, 3]. The US lawmakers warned Malaysia could lose this benefit if the policy is not reversed.
Anwar responded by saying the deportation policy is not new but longstanding, aimed at upholding Malaysia's sovereign immigration and foreign policy based on principles and opposition to Israeli state actions against Palestinians. He denied accusations of antisemitism, stating, "We are not antisemitic. We oppose Israel’s brutality and oppression. We will not retreat just because eight US congressmen oppose our policy to ban Israeli citizens from entering Malaysia." [5, 6, 7]
Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan confirmed the government’s position to the US government on July 23, stating, "The non-recognition of Israel is not a new policy. We informed the US government about it, and we are handling this matter appropriately. This policy has always existed and is not new." [8]
The issue arose after reports on July 22 that some Israeli citizens with dual nationality had entered Malaysia using other passports to attend a network school in Johor's Forest City. Malaysian immigration authorities investigated and revoked the school's license over licensing violations and misuse of premises. Many of the 256 foreign nationals at the school were affected [4, 2].
Malaysian officials rejected US claims that the country supports Hamas or terrorist groups as baseless [2, 3]. Defence Minister Mohamad Kharuddin affirmed Malaysia’s consistent stance: "Despite external pressures, Malaysia’s position on Israel remains consistent and unchanged. Any deportation is just enforcing an established policy." [7]
The diplomatic tensions continue as Malaysia maintains its ban on Israeli nationals and rejects that the policy will affect bilateral relations with the US [5, 6, 7]. The US Congress set a 15-day deadline after their July 21 letter for Malaysia to reconsider or risk suspension of key military training aid. [2, 3]
