Malaysia’s PM Anwar Ibrahim makes ‘no apology’ for Hamas links on Germany visit

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has defended Malaysia’s relations with Hamas, saying he made “no apologies” for his nation’s historical links with the Palestinian militant group and reiterating his stance that the Middle East conflict predates the October 7 attack on Israel.

Anwar has been one of the most vocal critics in the Muslim world of Israel’s relentless attack on Gaza – an assault which has claimed over 30,000 lives so far, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

During a visit to Germany, a staunch supporter of Israel, Anwar said he would make “no apologies” over Malaysia’s stance on Hamas and urged people to “understand the fundamental cause of the problem” that triggered the conflict.

“What I reject strongly is this narrative, this obsession, as if the entire problem begins and ends with the 7th of October,” the prime minister said. There had been decades of “atrocities, plunder and dispossession of Palestinians,” he added at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.