‘Next, Netanyahu can visit Malaysia’: anger and ridicule as Anwar shakes Myanmar leader’s ‘bloodstained’ hands

Protests, condemnation and a wave of online ridicule greeted Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s red-carpet welcome for Min Aung Hlaing, the Myanmar military leader cited for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC), with some suggesting that Malaysia may have cleared the path for a similar visit by Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also facing war crimes charges.

It comes as Anwar went ahead and shook hands with Min Aung Hlaing during a state welcome, in what is perhaps the first time a Malaysian government has ever allowed an official visit by a head of state wanted for war crimes.

The prime minister’s social media pages have seen a deluge of comments from both Malaysians and members of the Myanmar diaspora across the region, many questioning Anwar’s justification for engaging with Min Aung Hlaing even as the junta unleashes some of the worst airstrikes in years against civilians on the pretext of fighting militants.

“It’s not good to be shaking hands with a criminal,” said Htoo Htoo Naing, one of hundreds of comments posted during a Facebook live stream of Anwar’s joint press conference with the Myanmar dictator.

“Welcome the killer chief,” said T Tay Gyi.

“If you shake hands with someone whose hands are soiled with faeces, you belong to the faeces,” said another.

“Insha Allah shaitan (satan)-yahu will visit Malaysia soon,” said another user, referring to Israel’s Netanyahu, who has an ICC arrest warrant issued against him over the genocidal campaign in Gaza that has killed 100,000 people.

That figure is roughly the same in Myanmar, where around 100,000 people have been killed since Min Aung Hlaing seized power in a military coup in 2021, while more than 3.5 million people have fled to neighbouring countries, including some 200,000 to Malaysia.

Recently, the regime has stepped up airstrikes on townships and civilian areas in Rakhine (Arakan) state, the homeland of the Rohingya Muslims whose citizenship was stripped four decades ago, rendering them stateless.

Myanmar current affairs news outlet The Irrawaddy reported that the junta has lost most of the territory it once controlled in the Arakan region, and has now trained its weapons on civilian sites including markets, hospitals, schools, villages and displacement camps.

“The mounting casualties suggest that air power has become one of the junta’s principal means of projecting force into areas it can no longer effectively control on the ground,” the report added.

Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to Malaysia provides a timely distraction for the regime from international condemnation over its deadly campaign.

It also comes amid a systematic hate campaign online targeting Malaysia’s Muslim audiences, who have for decades sympathised with the plight of the Rohingya Muslims.

Checks showed that much of the xenophobic content was spread by bots and fake social media accounts, with AI-generated videos designed to turn public hostility against refugee and migrant communities.

Politicians from both sides of the divide have largely remained silent over the hate campaign for fear of backlash from sections of their vote bank.

The campaign has already found tacit approval among a section of Malaysian politicians, and the artificial pressure generated online has, to some extent, prompted the authorities to launch crackdowns against refugees, culminating in Anwar’s announcement of a deal with Myanmar to deport thousands of refugees.

In recent days, pushback has come from independent Muslim activists, who warned Malaysian Muslims supporting the hate campaign against the Rohingya of double standards.

Among them is the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisation (Mapim), an umbrella group representing Muslim NGOs nationwide, which has urged the formation of a special task force to combat digital hate and disinformation.

“Are we seeing a spontaneous spread of hatred, or is there a network of accounts deliberately manipulating public sentiment?” asked Mapim president Azmi Abdul Hamid. “Do not allow social media algorithms to determine who Malaysians should hate.”

In a statement today, Azmi reminded Anwar’s government not to compromise humanitarian principles as it engages with the Myanmar leader.

“As Myanmar is gripped by conflict and a humanitarian crisis, Malaysia must ensure that diplomatic protocols do not create the perception that the actions of the Myanmar authorities have been resolved.

“Malaysia needs to make it clear that ‘engagement is not endorsement’,” he said, adding that Putrajaya “does not need to choose between principles and diplomacy”.

Meanwhile, one Facebook comment offers advice for Anwar, summing up the frustrations of many Myanmar nationals.

“Every action taken today becomes history for tomorrow. Even after death, it will remain recorded on the pages of history for future generations to see.

“Do not live merely for the sake of a single lifetime; live today for the legacy you will leave behind,” wrote Kyaw Kyaw.