Malaysian PM defends his meeting with Hamas leaders

Anwar says they consider him a friend, giving him an edge in trying to secure peace

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on May 23 that the leaders of Hamas, whom he has known for decades, consider him a friend and that gave him an edge in his attempt to secure peace in the Middle East.

The remarks by Datuk Seri Anwar at a Nikkei conference in Tokyo were in response to criticism he received for meeting a Hamas delegation led by the group's political leader, Mr Ismail Haniyeh, in Qatar on May 13.

Mr Anwar said he told them during the meeting to respect the decisions of their neighbouring states, to release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and to accept the two-state solution.

"Is that an offence? Did I promote terrorism? No," he said. "I appealed (to the Hamas leaders) because I have an advantage.

What's my advantage? I know them and they consider me a friend," he added.

While the meeting is Mr Anwar's first with Mr Haniyeh after becoming prime minister, he had previously met the Hamas leader in 2019 and 2020.

He told the forum that the situation in Gaza must be viewed and understood as "a humanitarian crisis of an unprecedented scale".

"People can talk about the political crisis but be blinded by the fact that daily you see children, women, civilians, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches being destroyed," he said.