Support for Palestine has been an integral part of Malaysia’s foreign policy since its independence in 1957. Asia Thinkers discusses Malaysian NGOs providing support to the people of Palestine, including the issues facing some NGOs who have been accused of ties to Islamic extremist groups, corruption and child abuse.
Malaysia was the first South-East Asian nation to award full diplomatic status to the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and has been providing support to Palestine since 1957. Notably, Kuala Lumpur has hosted the first Asian office for Fatah, the Palestinian party, since 1969. Following the recent Hamas attack on Israel and the escalation of the conflict, the war has resulted in the people of Gaza facing starvation and displacement. With homes and infrastructure destroyed and more than forty-five thousand deaths, mostly women and children, Palestinians are in dire need of humanitarian aid and support.
Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, has been outspoken in his support of the Palestinians and has ignored western pressure to condemn Hamas. Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation, has long advocated for the Palestinian cause, reflecting a social and political consensus amongst Malays. Hamas maintains a presence and senior Hamas officials have received a warm welcome from Malaysian politicians. There are at least fifty-two Malaysian NGOs involved in humanitarian efforts related to Palestine, which include the provision of aid, mobilising volunteers and supporting Palestinians in need. There is also a coalition of thirteen NGOs advocating for Palestinian liberation and humanitarian assistance. Other NGOs such as Aman Palestin and Aqsa Syarif have forged notable partnerships with Palestinian organisations and work directly with them to provide humanitarian aid and rebuilding programmes. Over the years NGO’s have garnered widespread support from Malaysian citizens and organisations sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, raising millions in donations and overseeing aid and reconstruction projects.
Against this background two key Malaysian NGOs supporting Palestinians have courted controversy. The Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia is reported to have strong links with Hamas and Aman Palestin have been charged with money laundering and corruption.
Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia.
In 2011 Fatah founded the Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia (PCOM) which was designed to raise domestic awareness of the Palestinian cause and also function as an official platform for Hamas. It is one of the most prominent NGOs supporting Palestine in Malaysia, with the aim of promoting awareness of the Palestinian cause and fostering cultural, educational and political cooperation between Palestinians and Malaysians. PCOM organises forums, conferences, cultural events and publications to mobilise support for Palestinian rights and fund raising. Dr Muslim Imran, the leading Hamas member in Malaysia, is Chairman of the organisation and the leading Hamas member in Malaysia. He is affiliated with Universiti Malaya and Asia Middle East Center for Research and Dialogue (AMEC). He has been accused of allowing PCOM to be a diplomatic channel for Hamas. Some political observers believe that this implies PCOM has both a political and humanitarian agenda. Recently Dr Muslim has been supporting the Government efforts to bring injured Palestinians to Malaysia for medical treatment and offering scholarships through PCOM to Palestinian students to pursue bachelor, masters, and PhD courses at twelve Malaysian universities.
The Malaysian public has shown to be generally supportive of the Prime Minister’s Palestine agenda to bring refugees to Malaysia for Medical treatment. In February, Malaysia successfully evacuated one hundred and twenty-seven Palestinians from Gaza for urgent medical treatment, bringing the total number of Palestinian refugees residing in Malaysia to around seven hundred. A recent incident involving Palestinian refugees claiming they were restricted to their transit camp with no outside access, resulted in conflict with police. This has highlighted an underlining tension amongst Malaysians, with many netizens comparing them to Rohingya refugees who have generally been unwelcome in Malaysia due to their large numbers, causing the community to be concerned about crime and other social ills.
Aman Palestin.
Malaysia-based Aman Palestin. (Photo: The Malay Mail)
Aman Palestin, or Peace Palestine, is a prominent Malaysian non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to providing emergency aid, welfare and humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. Aman Palestin was established in 2004 by leaders of ISMA, a hardline Islamist group that has been advocating for an Islamic state in Malaysia. It has has long claimed that there is a “Christianisation agenda” by non-Muslims that will threaten the existence of Islam in Malaysia. Abdul Rahman, who was the first president of ISMA, founded the charity and he and other key members of Aman Palestin continue to be associated with ISMA. Allegations have arisen over the years of its continued association with extremist groups and the misuse of funds, including dealings with ISMA related companies. As a charity it has funded the construction and maintenance of orphanages, provided education assistance to Palestinian students at Malaysian universities, supported poverty alleviation, agricultural and social projects, and medical aid in the Palestinian Territories. Leaders of the charity are embroiled in controversy following investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) into misappropriation of USD17 million to buy gold, property and other assets for personal gain, resulting in key executives being arrested and freezing of the charities bank accounts. The allegations against Aman Palestin have cast a shadow over the NGO’s reputation and the freeze on Aman Palestin’s accounts has also made it difficult for the NGO to carry out its humanitarian work. The allegations specifically involve the misappropriation of funds, criminal breach of trust and money laundering amounting to millions of ringgit in public donations made to Aman Palestin. This has lead to many outraged Malaysians to go online, calling for accountability and criticising the charities ties to ISMA.
Since the Aman Palestin controversy netizens have raised doubts over the integrity of NGOs fund raising for similar causes and led to a negative perception of NGOs and a decrease in donations for Palestinian aid. Many are calling for more transparency and accountability on how the public donations are being spent.
Malaysians have been known for their strong support for the Palestinian cause and any negative perception or loss of trust in NGOs supporting this cause could potentially affect the overall support and advocacy for their work in Palestine. For NGOs like Aman Palestin, working to support Palestinians, the impact will depend on the Malaysian public’s trust in the NGO’s transparency and accountability.
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