As Zionist-friendly Bahrain brings F1, Malaysia reminded to stand firm on no-Israeli policy

Malaysians are closely watching whether Putrajaya will stand by its position not to tolerate any presence of Israeli nationals in the country as Malaysia prepares to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix on behalf of Bahrain in October.

Social media users have been abuzz over speculation about the possible appearance of Israeli national Yael Shelbia, the girlfriend of Canadian Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll.

Many have pointed out that Shelbia has also served in the Israeli air force, reminding authorities to deny her entry if she chooses to accompany Stroll to Sepang in October.

“Too bad she can't get in here, but maybe Lance could finally stand on the podium without his gf this time,” wrote a user on X.

“She’ll probably come in with a Canadian passport,” said another.

News of F1 moving to Malaysia comes less than two weeks after  authorities in Johor shut down a tech retreat following controversy over the presence of Israelis, as well as its founder Balaji Srinivasan's pro-Zionist leanings.

Earlier, immigration authorities cleared hundreds of foreign residents at Srinivasan's Network School in Forest City, although many believe they could not expel dual-national Israelis who entered Malaysia using US passports.

Following this, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who has taken pains to reverse his past image of taking a softer approach to Israel compared with his predecessors, warned that Israelis are not welcome in the country.

“If we find any Israeli, we will deport them immediately because we do not recognise Israel,” he said.

Bahrain's decision to move the F1 race to Malaysia was due to the tiny Gulf state – which hosts some of the largest US military presence in the Middle East – becoming a target of Iranian missiles in response to the US-Israeli attack, as well as mounting public anger among the predominantly Shia Muslim population against their government's support for the US-led war.

It has been hosting the international motor racing for the last two decades.

F1 was first held in Malaysia in 1999, largely due to efforts by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose administration embarked on a construction spree of iconic landmarks, including the Sepang International Circuit just outside the newly opened Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the Putrajaya administrative capital.

In 2017, amid rising costs and dwindling returns, then prime minister Najib Razak announced that Malaysia would no longer host the race, a decision that came alongside rising tension between him and Mahathir.

The decision to scrap the race - which costs the government RM300 million every year - was inevitable, coming at a time when Malaysia's economy was affected by the global fall in oil prices.This time, however, Bahrain has agreed to absorb most of the cost of holding the race.

Essentially, this means the F1 race in Sepang is an event organised by the government of Bahrain, supervised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the body governing world motorsports.

As such, questions linger over whether Malaysia is expected to allow visas to teams and officials from any nationality, including Israelis, who are strictly banned from entering the country.

Although there has never been any Israeli team competing in F1, Israeli nationals and entities have been involved in the race through corporate partnerships.

Bahrain-Israel ties

Bahrain is one of only four Arab states that agreed to recognise Israel under the so-called Abraham Accords sponsored by President Donald Trump.

Despite public anger at Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza, Bahraini leaders welcomed the first Israeli ambassador to the country last year.

Both regimes have since openly discussed closer economic ties, including tourism.

“We believe that Israeli tourism is part of the overall strategy that we have to encourage tourism in Bahrain,” Khalid Ebrahim Humaidan, who heads Bahrain's Economic Development Board, told the Times of Israel in 2023.

It is believed that Israeli fans were among more than 12,000 international spectators who attended the Bahrain F1 race last year.

While global sporting bodies usually give the host country the ultimate authority over its immigration policies, developing countries are often punished for asserting their rights.

Last year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged sporting federations not to hold events in Indonesia after Jakarta barred Israeli gymnasts from participating in a world championship.

In 2023, FIFA stripped Indonesia of hosting the Under-20 World Cup after the island of Bali said it would ban Israel from the competition.

In 2015, Malaysia was criticised for denying entry to the Israeli team participating in the Youth Sailing World Championships in Langkawi, while in 2019 the International Paralympic Committee stripped Malaysia of hosting rights for the World Para Swimming Championships over visa refusals for Israeli athletes.

Fragomen, a New York-based legal firm that advises F1 on immigration matters, has categorised countries according to the difficulty of obtaining entry visas for participants, with Bahrain named “among the most lenient”.

At the Bahrain-sponsored F1 race this October, it remains to be seen whether, as the main sponsor, it will have a say over immigration matters relating to participants and officials.

While many flooded social media to remind Putrajaya to be firm about its no-Israeli policy, some have doubts, especially on Stroll's Israeli girlfriend.

"King of Bahrain probably will intervene for her to make her to get special exemption. Malaysia does in fact have few times made exemptions for Israelis to enter Malaysia using Israel passport," said user Khairul on X.