One of the strongest supporters of the Palestinian Hamas in the distance is a state in Southeast Asia: Malaysia. The connections have grown over many years. Hamas representatives were welcome as guests of the long-standing ruling party Umno, and this was anything but secret. The close contacts became most obvious in January 2020, when then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad received Hamas leader Ismail Haniya for talks in Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian government does not consider him to be the head of a terrorist group that should be outlawed, but rather is celebrated by it as a Palestinian liberation fighter.
Southeast Asia: Malaysia supports Hamas politics
