KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 (Bernama) — The Palestinians are among the most severely repressed people in the world, and conditions in Malaysia bear no resemblance to the realities faced by Palestinians under Israeli occupation, said British politician George Galloway.
Responding to a controversial question from a local news portal journalist during a public lecture titled “Gaza Exposes the Complicity of International Actors” on Jan 12, Galloway rejected comparisons between the Palestinian struggle and the situation of the Chinese community in Malaysia, describing such parallels as inaccurate and grotesque.
“I have been all over Kuala Lumpur but I didn’t see any tanks. I didn’t see any guns. I didn’t see any trucks. I didn’t see any special roads for special people.
“I didn’t see any of the things that you allude to. I may have missed something. I’m not an expert on the question that you have raised,” he said, as seen in a video clip uploaded on Facebook today.
The former Workers Party of Britain Member of Parliament for Rochdale was responding to a question that suggested parallels between the Palestinian issue and the position of the Chinese community in Malaysia, as well as claims that some pro-Palestinian supporters locally may also have anti-immigrant views.
The question also suggested that both issues stemmed from British colonial legacies and shared elements of xenophobia and exclusive nationalism.
Galloway said he did not observe systemic repression comparable to apartheid in Malaysia, noting that the Chinese community appeared to be thriving.
“As far as I can see, the Chinese do quite well in Malaysia because of their hard work and business expertise. Chinese do well everywhere, including in China,” he said.
Galloway, who said he spends much of his time living and working in China, rejected any suggestion that his views were motivated by nationalism or xenophobia.
“I hate nationalism. I am the last person who could be accused of sinophobia or xenophobia. Nobody could be more pro-China than me,” he said.
He said likening Malaysia to an apartheid society similar to Palestine was unfortunate and “a little bit embarrassing.”
Meanwhile, the news portal involved has issued an apology and said disciplinary action has been taken against the journalist following an internal investigation.
— BERNAMA