SEPANG – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has lambasted US academician Bruce Gilley for criticising the country’s support of Palestine.

“(A) mediocre scholar should not have been invited as a visiting professor in the first place,” Datuk Seri Anwar said on the sidelines of the launch of the Malaysia Airlines Berhad Academy and ground-breaking ceremony for the Flight Simulator Building in Sepang, Selangor, on April 26.

“The rest (of the issue) has been (handled) by the Higher Education Minister.”

Professor Gilley, a political science professor from Portland State University, reportedly downplayed Malaysia’s ties with the United States during a talk at Universiti Malaya (UM) on April 23.

He was also criticised on social media for claiming that Malaysia had pushed for “a second Holocaust”.

Later, Prof Gilley took to X to say that he removed the post containing the quote taken from his keynote address for the safety and well-being of his colleagues at UM.

He added that the quote reflected his views alone and regretted any harm he had caused to his academic colleagues.

In another X post on April 25, Prof Gilley said he had “safely departed from Malaysia, one step ahead of the Islamo-fascist mob whipped up by the government there”.

Malaysia, which has no diplomatic ties with Israel, has repeatedly condemned the country for its numerous attacks on Palestine, including the current war in Gaza, which has seen more than 34,000 Palestinians killed and 77,000 wounded since October, according to the Gaza health authorities.

Israel attacked Gaza after Hamas militants that control Gaza attacked Israel on Oct 7, killing 1,200 and taking scores of hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Hamas says its armed activities are resistance against Israeli occupation, while Israel says its actions since Oct 7 have been in self-defence following those attacks. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, REUTERS