LETTER | Cometh the hour, cometh the man. The man that is Dr Mahathir Mohamad. There was an air of inevitability surrounding the elections, more so when the gap in votes between BN and Pakatan Harapan grew wider and wider. After six decades and a year, BN was finally deposed from its throne.

Promises of a change in the political trajectory of Malaysia finally came to fruition. The impassioned rhetoric surrounding the elections revolved around the domestic side of Malaysia; the economy, the racial and religious fissures and so on and so forth.

Of course, there is also a ‘foreign policy’ element to the administration of a country’s population. What has practically remained constant throughout Malaysia’s existence since 1957 is its policy towards Israel. Yes, one of Malaysia’s favourite punching bags. At times erring on the side of a cordial relationship, Malaysia has not had formal diplomatic ties with Israel in these sixty-one years.

A whole piece could be written on the reasons why but in simple terms, an Islam that has been framed by the Malaysian government in domestic and geopolitical terms has prevented Malaysia from establishing diplomatic relations with Israel (if they ever came close).

A walk down the hostile memory lane quickly reminds one of Mahathir’s anti-Israel rhetoric during the first leg of his premiership. Where this existed at one end of the spectrum, Islamic fervour existed at the other. In the Islamic Conference summit in 2003, he vowed that “1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews”.

Fast forward to December 2017, only five months before the Malaysian political earthquake, Mahathir called US President Donald Trump an “international bully” and a “villain” for declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Mahathir also protested in solidarity with pro-Palestinian protesters towards the US embassy. In his BN days, Mahathir’s stance towards Israel hinged on the success of the Middle East process.

Here we are in 2018; the same leader, only this time heading a much bigger political umbrella. An umbrella that will be put to the test by the political headwinds emanating from the different parties within the opposition. At 92 years old and with (supposedly) two years to institute even a modicum of positive change for Malaysia, Mahathir would be hard-pressed to attend to the domestic urgencies of the country.

Nevertheless, what of Israel? Is the anti-Israel rigour still alive in him? One cannot help but be curious to see how Mahathir approaches Israel and Jews. Prominent Jews such as George Soros know only too well how capable Mahathir is of speaking his mind.

The economy was a big talking point during the elections, along with the 1MDB scandal which only fuelled more anger for former PM Najib Razak. However, Islam will always remain an indispensable element of Malaysian society, not least because it is constitutionally the religion of the country. Intricately tied to Islam is a hatred for (perceived) threats to Islam, in this case, the Jews. The hatred is fomented at the political elite level and disseminated to the ground level.

It remains to be seen if Mahathir will continue to embody an anti-Israel stance or perhaps a more moderate line. Either way, domestic concerns are likely to overpower concerns surrounding the colonial settler state in existence since 1948. At best, Israel may be that political ‘bad boy’ that occasionally gets that metaphorical lashing. The topic of Israel and Jews continue to be relevant on the ground, with the recent assassination of Palestinian engineer Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh proving as such. His family was quick to point the finger at Israeli spy agency Mossad, symbolising an Israeli conspiracy in Malaysia.

Not much has been written on Mahathir and Israel in the aftermath of the elections, save for two Israeli newspapers reminding readers of him. Will we see an unabashed and relentless leader lambast Israeli crimes in Gaza, or will Israel be relegated to the level of political entertainment, with the domestic economy rightfully taking centre stage?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.