Malaysia’s ambassador to the United States was summoned by the US State Department to explain Kuala Lumpur’s position on Israel, state media reported, citing the country’s foreign minister.
Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Ambassador Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob told the State Department that Malaysia’s long-standing policy of not recognising Israel was not new.
“It has always been Malaysia’s policy. Our immigration policy does not recognise the State of Israel or the Zionist regime. This has long been our position,” Bernama cited Mohamad as saying late on Thursday.
“There was an individual with dual citizenship, the US and Israel, who entered Malaysia using his US passport. However, subsequent checks revealed that he also held Israeli citizenship, and we asked him to leave.”
The US embassy in Malaysia has been asked for comment.
The row was triggered after Network School, the “digital nomad” community founded in Malaysia by US investor Balaji Srinivasan, came under scrutiny after social media users alleged that it included participants from Israel.