On Wednesday, the Malaysian government banned the Israeli shipping company ZIM and any Israeli-flagged vessels from making port calls in the country, which it says is in response “to Israel’s actions that ignore basic humanitarian principles and violate international law through the ongoing massacre and brutality against Palestinians.”
The ban, which also affects any vessel heading to Israel ports, was announced by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Kenyataan Media
Perdana Menteri
20 Disember 2023Kerajaan Malaysia memutuskan untuk menyekat dan tidak membenarkan syarikat perkapalan yang berpangkalan di Israel, ZIM daripada berlabuh di mana-mana pelabuhan Malaysia.
Kementerian Pengangkutan akan mengambil tindakan segera… pic.twitter.com/xBoUjTIt8D
— Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) December 20, 2023
“For the record, the Cabinet in 2002 began allowing ships owned by [ZIM] to dock in Malaysia. In 2005, the then Cabinet gave permission for the ship to land in Malaysia. However, the Government today decided to cancel all past Cabinet decisions.” he added.
“Malaysia is confident that the decision will not affect Malaysia’s trade activities.”
Malaysia, which is majority Muslim, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and has long maintained a close relationship with Hamas.