Anwar Ibrahim (left) meeting with former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen (right) in 1998. Photo: wiki commons.

Last week The Algemeiner reported on Anwar Ibrahim’s statement to the Wall Street Journal that Israel’s security must be protected.  Ibrahim is in contention to be Malaysia’s next Prime Minister, a country that Israel does not currently share diplomatic relations with.

The remarks have drawn a response from the Palestinian envoy to Malaysia, Abdelaziz Abughoush.

”We are shocked and surprised by the weird statement in which he supported the security of Israel. We do not know who needs the security, actually — Israel has more than 200 types of nuclear weapons and an army armed to the teeth with all the lethal weapons.”

Ibrahim, who is a leading candidate to be Malaysia’s next Prime Minister, was the country’s Deputy Prime Minister from 1993-1998 before being arrested on charges of corruption and sodomy.

Abughoush continued on, blaming Israel for “neglecting” the peace process.

“We do not know that the security is needed for the occupier or the occupied people of Palestine, who are being oppressed daily and facing illegal measures and inhuman practices by Israeli occupiers, who violate humanitarian law and international law and neglect all the good efforts of the international community for peace and stability in the the Middle East.”