KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Police have not received any reports of direct threats to the safety of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim so far after he expressed Malaysia’s support for the rights of Palestinians in the Middle East.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said police are still gathering information for now to determine the level of security threat to the prime minister and the country.
“For now there is no direct threat but we are still collecting intelligence,” he told reporters after attending a passing-out parade in conjunction with the completion of the police basic training programme here this morning.
“So far, no police reports have been lodged yet,” he added.
Razarudin reiterated that police will not compromise on Malaysia’s security.
Anwar had disclosed last month that he had been under external pressure and even threats over his outspoken advocacy for Palestinian rights following a stepped up series of bombardments from the Zionist Israeli government in Gaza.
The Prime Minister’s Office also confirmed that the federal government received a démarche notice from the United States on the Palestine-Israel conflict on October 13, while the US Deputy Chief of Mission to Malaysia Manu Bhalla had called on a deputy secretary-general of Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs the previous day.
The US State Department defined a démarche as a “formal diplomatic representation of its official position, views, or wishes on a given subject" which seeks to "persuade, inform, or gather information from a foreign government”, or to “protest or object to actions by a foreign government”.
On October 31, Anwar disclosed that the United States Department of State had called up Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, Malaysia’s ambassador in Washington DC, in relation to Malaysia’s stance on Palestine.
