No risk of sanctions from backing Iran, says Middle East expert

Free Malaysia Today

Academic Julia Roknifard says imposing punitive measures would alienate Malaysia and allow China to fill the power vacuum.  Read More:   Laporan Lanjut:   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTSpecialReport #JuliaRoknifard #AnwarIbrahim #MiddleEast #SoutheastAsia #GlobalNorth

Transcript

00:00On April 13, Iran launched an unprecedented strike on Israel, deploying an extensive arsenal

00:13of some 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles, and over 120 ballistic missiles.

00:22But a coalition of Israeli, American, French, Jordanian, and British forces successfully

00:28foiled the attack, intercepting 99% of the ordinances.

00:33Iran's retaliatory strike was triggered by Israel's assault on an Iranian embassy building

00:39in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed 16 people, including two Iranian generals.

00:45It marked a significant escalation in the long-running Iran-Israel conflict.

00:51While most Western leaders pledged their unequivocal support for Israel, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

00:57chose to back Iran, calling their counter-strike a legitimate act.

01:01But will Malaysia suffer any backlash for its stance?

01:04University of Nottingham Malaysia's Iran and Middle East expert Julia Rochnifard doesn't

01:10think so.

01:11She says Malaysia is unlikely to suffer anything more than soft, punitive economic action.

01:17The security risks that I can only think of in this situation would be maybe economically,

01:24again, maybe not in terms of direct sanctions, but some kind of behind-the-scenes mechanisms

01:32trying to pressure certain industries or maybe political personalities for some kind of concessions.

01:40Rochnifard said it would be unwise for the Global North to alienate Malaysia, given that

01:45two of the world's superpowers have long been vying for dominance in the region.

01:51For years, Southeast Asia and the South China Sea have been battlegrounds for the U.S. and

01:56China to exert influence and sway states to their respective spheres.

02:00I also wouldn't be interested in any of them pulling out because it also tries to benefit

02:07from this kind of competition taking place.

02:10If, let's say, the United States were to pull out, abandon Malaysia, sanction Malaysia included

02:16into the axis of the U.S. as supporters of Hamas or Iran, for example, there would be

02:22a vacuum which would be filled up by China.

02:25Meanwhile, Azmi Hassan from Academy Nusantara says Malaysia's backing for Iran stemmed from

02:31a perception that the Islamic State is being bullied by Israel and by extension, the U.S.

02:37He said it was unlikely that Malaysia's support for the Middle Eastern country would bring

02:42adverse consequences since Malaysia has also had open exchanges with Hamas.

02:48When Prime Minister openly contacted or communicated with Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, not

02:56once but twice, I don't see any reason for us to be concerned about our security because

03:04our support to Iran, similarly our support to the Gaza people, is based on international

03:11rule.

03:12While the legitimacy of these back-and-forth gestures may be subject to debate, it is more

03:17important for states to address the issue with pragmatism, sparing further bloodshed

03:22in an already protracted conflict.

03:26Natasha Bust and Danish Raja Reza, FMT News.

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