FB CENSORSHIP
Malaysia outraged at Meta takedown of media's Facebook posts on PM's Hamas meeting

Danial Azhar
Updated Wed, May 15, 2024 

Malaysia's PM Anwar Ibrahim

By Danial Azhar

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's communications minister expressed outrage at Meta Platforms on Tuesday, demanding it explain why it had taken down Facebook posts by local media covering the prime minister's meeting this week with a Hamas leader.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in Qatar on Monday and later stressed that though he had good relations with the group's political leaders, he had no involvement in its military apparatus.

Muslim-majority Malaysia, a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, has sent a letter asking Meta to explain the takedown of posts by two media organisations about Anwar's meeting, and closed the Facebook account of a third outlet covering Palestinian issues.

"I condemn Meta's actions of removing posts, especially since they were in relation to the prime minister's official visit to Qatar," Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who is also government spokesperson, told a regular briefing.

"What I regret is that these actions were taken by an organisation based in the United States, and it's clear that they do not respect the freedom of media outlets in using their platform."

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Malaysia's request.

Last October, Fahmi warned firm action could be taken against Meta and other social media firms if they were blocking pro-Palestinian content on their platforms.

Malaysia has long advocated a two-state solution for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Meta at the time said it was not deliberately suppressing voices on its Facebook platform, adding there was "no truth" to the claim it was restricting content supporting the Palestinians.

Meta designates Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that governs Gaza, as a "dangerous organisation" and bans content praising the group. It also uses a mix of automated detection and human review to remove or label graphic visuals.

(Reporting by Danial Azhar; Editing by John Mair, Martin Petty)

Malaysia PM Meets Hamas Chief in Qatar in Show of Support

Anisah Shukry
Tue, May 14, 2024 


(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met with a Hamas delegation during his visit to Qatar, in a fresh show of support for the group designated a terrorist organization by the US.

Anwar expressed Malaysia’s gratitude toward Hamas for its willingness to release hostages and accept a peace plan put forward by the Arab world, according to a Facebook post on Tuesday. He also called on Israel to end its attacks on Palestinians, release prisoners and agree to the plan.

“Malaysia will remain committed to play its role on the international level for an end to the attacks on Rafah,” Anwar said in the Facebook post.

Anwar has been the staunchest advocate of the Palestinian cause in Southeast Asia, saying last year Malaysia would not recognize what he says was a unilateral attempt by the US to restrict support of Hamas. Malaysian leaders have a long history of friendly ties with the group and routinely turn up at protests at home against the US and the western world’s support of Israel.

Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, led the delegation, Anwar said. The prime minister conveyed his condolences to Haniyeh on the death of his family. Anwar was also given an update on the latest situation in Gaza and Rafah.

Anwar has taken on more pro-Islamic views since coming to power in 2022 to appeal to the ethnic Malay majority, who are Muslim by law.

The premier said later in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin at the Qatar Economic Forum that Malaysia’s relations with the US remained excellent despite their opposing stance on Hamas. Investments from its trading partner were still flowing into the Asian nation in an “aggressive” manner, he said.

“We do differ in some of their policies, what are considered the contradictions, hypocrisy,” Anwar said. “But overall, they’re still friends” of Malaysia, he said.

The Israeli military estimates at least 300,000 people have left Rafah since May 6, once a haven from Israeli bombardments in the north. More than 1 million people are estimated to be suffering from “catastrophic” food insecurity, according to the UN.

Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 in Israel and taking 250 others hostage. Since Israel’s retaliatory military offensive, about 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas.

Hamas opened a political office in Qatar more than a decade ago in coordination with the US after it requested a channel to communicate with the group. Qatar acts as a mediator for indirect talks between Israel, Hamas and Western powers.

--With assistance from Kok Leong Chan and Ram Anand.

 Bloomberg Businessweek

Malaysia PM says no evidence of ship-to-ship transfer of Iranian oil off Malaysia

Reuters
Tue, May 14, 2024 

(Reuters) - Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday there was "not one shred of evidence" of ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned Iranian oil off Malaysia, amid U.S. concern that Iran was using Malaysian service providers to move its oil.

A senior U.S. Treasury official said last week the United States saw Iran's capacity to move its oil as being reliant on providers in Malaysia.

That official also said the United States was trying to prevent Malaysia from becoming a jurisdiction where the Palestinian militant group Hamas could both fundraise and then move money.

Speaking at an economic forum in Qatar, Anwar said Malaysia does not have the capacity to monitor ship-to-ship transfers in international waters.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and has advocated for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Anwar during his trip met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar.

Anwar said that while he maintains good relations with the political wing of Hamas, he had no involvement with its military operations.

"I have no involvement or discussions with the military apparatus (of Hamas)," he said at the forum.

(Reporting by Danial Azhar in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Martin Petty)