Starvation and genocide in Gaza: An open letter to PM Anwar

Dear Prime Minister

Aliran recently held a webinar Starvation in Gaza – Hearing it from Gazans in Gaza (see above).

Despite internet issues in Gaza, it was a successful and meaningful event.

We had two people speaking directly from Gaza:

• Ahmed Ayesh Alnajjar (Abu Ayesh), the director general of international relations at the Gaza Ministry of Education and head of Muslim Care Malaysia’s Palestine office
• Dr Shatha Ahmed Abo Ishaq, an intensive care unit paediatrics specialist from the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Gaza

Both speakers gave powerful accounts of survival and loss, life and death. Their firsthand testimonies highlighted the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Excerpts of what they said are provided below this letter.

The starvation and genocide inflicted on the people of Gaza is rooted in a great and ongoing historical injustice against all conscience and against international law.

We feel compelled to do what we can to support the Palestinian victims and their struggle.

Abu Ayesh and Dr Shatha’s accounts and messages have motivated us to reach out to you, Prime Minister Anwar. You have consistently spoken in support of the Palestinian cause and against the ongoing injustice perpetrated by the Zionist state of Israel.

Under your leadership, Malaysia has condemned these atrocities – through The Hague Group, the Bogotá Conference in July, and UN forums. It gives us hope that Malaysia is playing a significant role in all this.

However, we urge scrutiny of whether Malaysia’s economic and diplomatic actions align fully with its principled stance and rhetoric. For example, at the emergency ministerial conference in Bogota, commitments were made on coordinated measures to end Israel’s military campaign and occupation of Palestine.

Yet, the situation in Gaza remains critical. All the while, daily mass murder, death and suffering continue in Gaza.

Since the formation of the Hague Group in January and the Bogota conference in July, has the rhetoric been translated to tangible measures to ease the situation in Gaza?

Concerns about corporate complicity

While Malaysia rightly condemns Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, the documented ties between multinational companies and Israel’s military operations raise questions. One of the Bogota commitments was to review public contracts to eliminate support for Israel’s occupation.

Boeing is a major supplier of weapons and military equipment to Israel. Yet, we note that Malaysia is committed to buying aircraft from Boeing. The company also operates wholly owned or supply chain manufacturing facilities in Malaysia. Even if Malaysia’s interest lies mainly in civilian or commercial aircraft or parts, Boeing’s role in arming Israel raises huge questions about ethical procurement for Malaysia.

Malaysia also has government-linked company links, through Sime Darby, of Caterpillar. Now, Caterpillar supplies bulldozers to Israel which, in the context of how Israel deploys them, are in fact war machines. While Sime Darby’s dealership position does not amount to endorsement, divestment pressure should be seriously considered.

Besides this, Malaysia has dealings or strategic collaborations with Big Tech firms such as Google and Amazon Web Services. These are companies that serve Israel’s atrocious ends through the supply of weaponised digital and AI technology systems. Malaysia’s links with these firms should be reviewed for indirect ties to Israeli militarisation.

That’s not all. Blackrock’s indirect ownership of a significant stake in MAHB (via GIP) is worrying. MAHB operates most of the airports in Malaysia while Black Rock holds shares in Israeli companies, including an arms manufacturer. This indirect link warrants greater scrutiny.

We are also concerned about Malaysia’s participation in war games involving countries that have been complicit in Israel’s genocidal violence in Gaza, most glaringly, the US.

The above are examples of apparent contradictions that can undermine the integrity of our support for Palestine.

Call for tangible action

Now, we understand that, as PM, you need to take into consideration more angles than one. But this is an urgent situation – a genocide.

The critical situation in Gaza (and the rest of Palestine) warrant legitimate questions to be asked of the mismatch between what we say and what we are actually doing.

During the webinar, Abu Ayesh expressed gratitude for Malaysia’s support. But he felt Malaysia could do a lot more – in the UN, in the Security Council and elsewhere.

Aliran, as a civil society group that has long supported the Palestinian struggle for justice and freedom, therefore calls for Malaysia to take stronger measures, including:

• Pushing for enforceable sanctions at the Security Council
• Reviewing all trade or investment ties with global firms that are directly or indirectly supplying Israel’s military
• Divesting public funds and assets from companies that may be complicit in violation of international law

We recognise the complexity of balancing diplomacy, trade and ethics. But these are extraordinary times and the situation in Gaza is critical.

We therefore respectfully request a response outlining how Malaysia will:

• Remove problematic corporate links, even if indirect, with Israel
• Leverage The Hague Group to stop the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza
• Ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza without obstruction and further deaths

Sincerely

Aliran executive committee

Quoted excerpts from the Aliran webinar Starvation in Gaza – Hearing it from Gazans in Gaza on 2 August 2025:

Abu Ayesh:

“I come to you as someone who has witnessed the death of his family members, friends and neighbours. Someone who has experienced hunger, fear, anxiety, worry and loss that no one should ever face.

“I come to you from Gaza…a homeland that has been turned into rubble. I come to you as someone who has buried his family members and neighbours under the ruins of our own homes.

“I come to you as someone who has been displaced, wounded, starved and is still standing.

“I am here to tell you all our children are starving, our families are being bombed, and the world is watching in silence.

“Please raise your voice, share the truth because our lives depend on your courage.

Dr Shatha:

“As a woman, there is no privacy, no hygiene, no well-prepared bathrooms. Imagine, as a woman, you share your bathroom with 30, 40 or 50 people.

“Almost all women in Gaza suffer sometime from urinary tract infections. There is no water from the taps. There is no electricity to pump water.

“Every day we admit patients with severe acute malnutrition. [Dr Shatha is a paediatrics specialist at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.] Every time, when I talk to the mothers in hospital, you can say mothers faint and collapse due to malnutrition; she didn’t take anything since one or two days.

“Women in pregnancy, all of them suffering from malnutrition. They have nothing to eat and they deliver baby in small weight.

“It’s very hard for every woman here. Very hard for every doctor, every nurse. What can I feel as a doctor that is working in paediatric ICU when a child [who] lost one of his arms, one of his legs, and asks me, ‘What happened to my family?’

“And you know that all his family is lost. How can you break that news to the child?”

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama

1. Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
2. Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
3. Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
4. Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
5. Lawan rasuah dan kronisme

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