Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says New Zealand and Malaysia are united in their calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza – despite disagreeing about whether Hamas is a terrorist entity.
Luxon is visiting Malaysia with a trade delegation in the hopes of boosting trade by 50% over the next six years.
The world leader and his Malaysian counterpart, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, are also wanting to work more closely on combatting transnational crime and terrorism.
Anwar told media today that in their bilateral meeting, the two discussed tensions in the South China Sea, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and “the atrocities committed in Gaza”.
In February, Luxon designated Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist entity following its October 7 attack in Israel.
“The terrorist attacks by Hamas in October 2023 were brutal and we have unequivocally condemned them,” Luxon said at the time.
In contrast, Anwar today told 1News he met with a Hamas leader and acting Iranian president President Mohammad Mokhber in May “to encourage them to seek a peaceful resolution”.
He said the situation in Gaza isn’t encouraging and again called on the United States to use its influence to stop the war. He also questioned why only Hamas were deemed terrorists.
“Forty thousand people killed by one party, and they are not terrorists?”
He said Malaysia’s view is that atrocities have been inflicted on Palestinians since 1947-48 and that part of history should not be erased.
Luxon, though, said both leaders had the same goal.
“We may have differences around Hamas, but what we are very united on is that we need to see an immediate ceasefire in that region,” Luxon said.
“There’s 195 countries in the world who don’t agree on everything with each other either – that’s quite normal.
“But I can tell you, we have no closer friend in Asia than Malaysia.”
There have been public boycotts in Malaysia – a majority Muslim nation – of companies associated with the United States, including KFC, Starbucks, and McDonald’s.
Many KFC outlets were temporarily closed as result, while Starbucks and McDonald’s have seen their revenue drop significantly.