Gaza Conflict Weaponised To Target Non Malays Local Zionists Narrative Reaching Fever Pitch

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Letter to Editor
THE voices of right-wing nationalists and their attendant cybertroopers have grown ever more shrill, loud and downright inflammatory.
This is obvious as the narrative surrounding local support for the Gaza conflict has been weaponised by local politicians and right-wing groups to create even deeper schisms in an already very fractured Malaysian society.
Whether it is upside down Jalur Gemilang, illegal temple structures or admission to local universities, the tone has been to constantly portray non-Malays as unpatriotic and ungrateful pendatang who do not seem to contribute to nation building.
While these are local issues, the detractors have stepped up a notch by leveraging the Israel-Hamas conflict in Palestine to advance such narrative.
It started as subtle suggestion that high profile thespians Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh and Henry Golding openly voice their support for Palestine.
Quite a tricky proposition since the film industry is said to be dominated by the Jewish community, many of whom do NOT stand in solidarity with Palestine.

Turning up the heat was social media influencer Zaim Salimun who simply labelled Malaysians who do NOT support Palestine as “Zionists”. Hope this young man is happy to have his 15 minutes of infamy by stirring up racial sentiments and forcing his world view onto others.
‘Non-Muslims deem unpatriotic, inhumane’
Echoing this sentiment in relation to the recent interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) by Israeli military forces is Facebooker Khairul Azri who used the supposed reaction on social media as proof of Zionists in our midst!

He singled out the social media platforms of English-language dailies in the likes of the Malay Mail, New Straits Times (NST) and Malaysiakini which apparently had ‘laughing’ emojis appended to reports of the ‘failed’ flotilla.
Alleged comments asserting that the flotilla were part of a Hamas conspiracy was used as further proof that Zionists lurk within Malaysian society! Incredibly, the said FB post hit the jackpot with 15K likes, 2.1K ‘hate’ comments and 22K shares.

In essence, narrative of this nature has been heating up for some time. From merely “unpatriotic” specimens, non-Malays are now being painted as heartless, inhumane and completely lacking in empathy to the genocide occurring in Gaza.
I urge the authorities to act against this hijacking of an international issue to suit local agendas, many of which seem designed to create disharmony and racial strife.
Nothing is ever black and white.
Many Malaysians may be abhorred that anyone could turn their backs on the plight of the Palestinians. This may be an extremely unpopular observation but how is that any different from some locals who think that once German dictator Adolf Hitler was justified in carrying out the Holocaust?
Food for thought indeed.
In the meantime, it is greatly hoped that a peaceful solution can be found to the on-going conflict in Gaza – not just to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in their war-torn land –  but also for the sake of Malaysians unfairly labelled as “Zionists”. 
Concerned Citizen
Gombak
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia

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