UPDATE - Premier Anwar says EU MPs ‘threatened’ Malaysia as predecessor slams US on Palestine

ADDS COMMENTS BY ANWAR IBRAHIM, STATEMENT BY MAHATHIR MOHAMAD; CHANGES HEADER, DECK

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday that EU lawmakers had proposed action against Malaysia because of its support to Palestine, according to state-run Bernama News.

“There were European MPs who proposed this (action) against Malaysia,” said Anwar, suggesting his personal safety may be at risk.

His comments came after he said at a pro-Palestine rally late Tuesday night that he “received multiple threats from Western countries over his criticisms of the Israeli government following the start of the war in Gaza.”

“It is not a problem; let us not be deterred. We have work to do. God willing, we will continue with our work,” Anwar told reporters Wednesday in Cyberjaya in Selangor province.

However, Police Chief Razarudin Husain said the force “will not compromise” on Anwar’s security.

“The security of the prime minister is our top priority,” Husain said, adding that it will be tightened.

Razarudin, however, had said threats “may be related to economic measures.”

Amid Anwar’s hardened support for Palestine, his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad, 98, slammed the US on Wednesday for its support to Israel.

Mahathir questioned the US policy on Israel and said the Jews of America “have a big say in the choice of the president and the government of the United States.”

“They own the media and the banks,” he wrote on X.

Israel was “not a big power,” Mahathir said: “Yet it cares nothing for international laws or morality. Why?”

“The reason is because it has the American government behind it. Frankly, the American Government approves of the crimes and the immorality of Israel. Biden never mentions the Palestinians who had been killed,” he said.

“As we condemn Israel for the atrocities against the Palestinians, we should also condemn the American Government for its support of the atrocities. In fact, the American Government seems ready to support Israeli invasion of Gaza and the genocide that it plans. The American Government and that of the UK are equally culpable,” said Mahathir.

Amid continued Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, Anwar last week had separate telephone calls with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh, the political bureau chief of the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, where he expressed Malaysia's “unwavering support for the Palestinian people.”

Israel launched a relentless bombardment campaign on Gaza following a surprise attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, putting the enclave’s residents under total siege and a blockade of food, fuel, and medical supplies. Aid supplies have since started to trickle in, but at levels far below the public need.

More than 7,900 people have been killed in the conflict -- 6,546 Palestinians including 2,704 children, 1,584 women -- and 1,400 Israelis.