25-4-2024 (KUALA LUMPUR) A prominent American academic has ignited a firestorm on social media after purportedly accusing Malaysia of advocating for a “second Holocaust against the Jewish people” during a lecture at the prestigious Universiti Malaya.
Bruce Gilley, a professor of political science at Portland State University, delivered a talk titled “Will Malaysia Become an Active Middle Power” at the university on Wednesday afternoon. According to reports, Gilley also allegedly downplayed Malaysia’s ties with the United States during his address.
In a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Gilley wrote: “‘A country whose political leaders advocate a second Holocaust against the Jewish people will never be a serious player in world affairs, and will certainly never be a friend or partner of the US,’ from my keynote address yesterday in KL on Malaysian foreign policy.”
Gilley proceeded to make controversial claims, stating: “This has been a long-standing vice of Malaysian politicians going back to Mahathir’s (former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad) advice to learn from the Germans on how to kill Jews.”
He further alleged: “Most explicitly, in October, agriculture (and food security) minister Mohamad Sabu promised a rally that ‘Israel will soon disappear’.”
Malaysia has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has consistently condemned the country’s actions against Palestine, including the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 34,000 Palestinians and left 77,000 others wounded since October 7 of the previous year.
In response to Gilley’s remarks, former foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah called upon the foreign ministry and Universiti Malaya to provide further details regarding the controversial lecture.
Amira Aisya Abd Aziz, the acting president of the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), described Gilley’s post as “absolutely misleading and unacceptable”, asserting that his statements falsely depicted Malaysia’s support for an independent Palestinian state.
“We have never advocated for a second Holocaust … Academic institutions should be very careful in inviting speakers and lecturers who are spreading pro-Zionist narratives,” she stated in a post on X.
Another user, @ooikokhin, labelled Gilley’s statement as “irresponsible” and “untrue”, adding that it had also jeopardised his hosts at Universiti Malaya.
“But you don’t care, do you? Knowing full well of the context, (you) still went into business for yourself,” the user wrote. “It’s not a keynote address. Stop exaggerating to seek validation.”
A spokesperson for Universiti Malaya acknowledged the controversy, stating that the university was “currently looking into this issue”. Additionally, a representative from the higher education ministry confirmed that the ministry would investigate the matter and take appropriate action.
Gilley’s history of controversial statements is well-documented. In 2017, his article “The Case for Colonialism”, published in the Third World Quarterly journal, sparked widespread condemnation and led to two separate petitions signed by thousands of academics demanding its retraction and his dismissal.
The fallout from the article resulted in the resignation of 15 out of 34 members of the journal’s editorial board, and Gilley himself faced personal and professional criticism, as well as death threats.
