In Southeast Asia, news in Gaza puts the Palestinian question at the heart of the debate
In Southeast Asia, the situation in the Middle East is also at the heart of concerns.
Malaysia, like Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country, historically supports Palestine.
In both countries, demonstrations in solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinians have been taking place for several months.
On the side of Singapore, which maintains diplomatic ties with Israel unlike Malaysia and Indonesia, the words of the country's former president calling for "
standing alongside humanity
" were very noted this week.
A neighborhood of Rafah completely razed after the intervention of the Israeli army to free two hostages held by Hamas on February 12, 2024. AP - Fatima Shbair
By: Juliette Pietraszewski
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In Singapore, a call from Halima Yacob, former President of Singapore, attracts attention
“
The degradation of the human soul
”
in the face of the continuing suffering in Gaza, and a call for
“
to stand with humanity
”.
These are the strong words of Halima Yacob, former president of Singapore from 2017 to 2023, present in a statement published on the social network Facebook, Monday February 26.
“
The world is procrastinating in its ceasefire efforts.
International laws and international organizations lose all relevance
,”
she also wrote
in her message
, republished by the Singaporean Minister of the Interior, Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam.
Far from going unnoticed in the press, this declaration was notably analyzed by specialists as a prevention of internal discord in Singapore.
A few days before Halima Yacob's statement, an open letter from parents was sent to the Singapore Ministry of Education.
The latter had announced that he would teach conflict to primary and secondary school students, but criticism was heard about the lack of balance and objectivity of this teaching.
If it is surprising to see Halima Yacob, former president of the City-State, make such strong comments, it is because she remains quite discreet.
But for some analysts, this declaration may also correspond to a clear desire by the Singaporean government to channel the emotions of the local population, while no demonstration for Gaza has yet taken place physically in the streets of Singapore,
unlike in 2016.
“Singapore's position has always been to maintain a diplomatic balance between the two parties
(editor's note: Israel and Palestine),
explains Jean-Loup Samaan, associate researcher at Ifri,
there is historic military cooperation with Israel, but also a concern to maintain relations with the Palestinian Authority.
For Singapore, this must also be read on an internal level, with for example, a desire to avoid importing the conflict into a country which includes a Muslim minority
(editor's note: in particular 14% of the population of Singapore are Malays whose religion is Islam).
This must also be read on a regional level, as neighboring Malaysia openly welcomes Hamas.
»
In Malaysia, a new demonstration to support the Palestinians in front of the American Embassy
On the Malaysian side, demonstrations of support for Palestine have increased in recent months.
The country does not recognize Israel, so it maintains no diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.
Malaysia's position on this subject is historic and consistent, and the current Prime Minister has not deviated from this rule.
Last November, Anwar Ibrahim declared that his country would maintain its diplomatic ties with Hamas (Editor's note: Hamas, which is made up of a political branch and an armed branch, and it is considered a terrorist group by countries predominantly Western countries.) A statement made after the receipt of several diplomatic notifications from the United States (US) embassy, concerning precisely the Malaysian position vis-à-vis Hamas.
Previously, the Malaysian Prime Minister quickly condemned the action of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip in October, calling it "the
height of barbarity in this world
", and compared the Hamas group to the African National Congress ( ANC), which sought to end apartheid in South Africa.
Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim.
© AP/Lisa Marie David
“
Malaysia is determined to pursue all means to support Palestine, end the atrocities in Gaza and bring Israel to justice
,”
wrote the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Putrajaya on January 22, 2024.
In addition to the Malaysian government, the company has also carried out boycotts of brands deemed close to Israel, and demonstrations in support of the Palestinians.
Previously, a six-day rally took place in front of the American embassy, for example.
This Saturday, March 2, a five-kilometer march was also organized, with a stop in front of the American embassy.
“
I think the world is witnessing the terrible situation that Palestinians are going through in Gaza, but not only in Gaza,”
explains
Chua Tian, spokesperson for the
Palestinian Solidarity Secretariat
(
SSP
), and organizer of these demonstrations.
Despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and statements, and overall condemnation of what Israel is doing, it appears that the United States continues to strongly support the atrocities of Israeli forces and their slaughter.
We must therefore once again show our solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The urgency is to be human above all, we must forget our differences... We must look at people's suffering!
The people should not pay the price, no matter what their leaders do.
There is no respect here for individual lives, and for the safety of people in this situation in Gaza.
And yet it is something that we always hear in the speeches of Americans and Western countries: we value the rights of the individual to life, property and security...
"
In Indonesia, the displayed continuity of the candidate and probable future president Prabowo Subianto
On the side of the largest archipelago in the world, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi recently called for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank and Gaza before the ICJ judges.
“
I stand before you today to defend justice against Israel’s flagrant violation of international law
,” she declared.
“
The illegal occupation and its atrocities must end and should neither be normalized nor recognized
.”
The Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs thus urged the International Court of Justice to issue a “
favorable advisory opinion in the interest of justice and humanity
”.
However, the minister also recognized that if the ICJ opinion deemed the occupation illegal, resolving the conflict could only be done through “
direct negotiations between the parties to the conflict
”.
Also read: What are Indonesia's positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
The world's largest Muslim country - like Malaysia - has no diplomatic ties with Israel, and demonstrations in support of the Palestinians have also emerged in recent months.
With the recent presidential election last February, the country's potential future president Prabowo Subianto (Editor's note: official election results will be given before mid-March) will most likely continue to support the Palestinians and the two-state solution, as the has been doing the country for decades, analysts say.
During his electoral campaign, Prabowo Subianto also committed to creating an Indonesian embassy on Palestinian soil.
Although Indonesia does not currently have an embassy in the Palestinian territories, the country nevertheless appointed the Palestinian, Maha Abu-Shuseh, as honorary consul in 2016. The inauguration ceremony had also took place in Jordan, because Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi was refused entry to Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, by the Israeli authorities.
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