Eight members of the United States House of Representatives have called on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to review Washington’s security and economic ties with Malaysia following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks that Israeli citizens found in the country would be deported.
In a letter dated July 21, the group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Ohio congressman Greg Landsman, described Malaysia’s long-standing refusal to recognise Israel as concerning and argued that Anwar’s reported statement regarding Israeli nationals warranted further action by the US government.
The letter was also signed by Josh Gottheimer, Jimmy Panetta, Dan Goldman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jared Moskowitz, Brad Sherman and Jake Auchincloss. The lawmakers said US support should come with expectations regarding the treatment of citizens from countries considered close allies of Washington.
They pointed to the International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme, which provides funding for professional training involving Malaysian military personnel, and urged the US State Department to review the assistance. They also called for the suspension of IMET funding if the alleged policy is not reversed within 15 days.
In the same letter, the lawmakers alleged that members of Hamas had previously received training in Malaysia, citing a report by an Israeli counter-terrorism research institute. They claimed the issue should be taken into consideration when assessing future diplomatic and security cooperation between both countries.
Anwar’s remarks came after claims that Israeli nationals had entered Malaysia using passports issued by other countries to participate in the Network School digital nomad community in Forest City, Johor.
Malaysia does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, and Israeli passport holders are generally not permitted to enter the country without prior approval from the Malaysian authorities.
Last week, the Immigration Department conducted inspections at Network School and confirmed that all 256 foreign nationals present possessed valid travel documents.
At the time of reporting, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra) and the Ministry of Defence had not issued official responses to the lawmakers’ letter.
