KUALA LUMPUR — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said Malaysia will not be pressured into changing its decades-old policy of barring Israeli nationals from entering the country, amid calls by some United States lawmakers for Washington to review ties with Putrajaya.

The Star reported that US lawmakers Greg Landsman, Josh Gottheimer, Jimmy Panetta, Dan Goldman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jared Moskowitz, Brad Sherman and Jake Auchincloss had urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to clarify possible steps in response to Anwar’s remarks that Israeli dual citizens found residing in Malaysia would be deported.

Anwar said Malaysia was not violating any international laws by maintaining the policy, which he said had been in place for decades.

“I would like to respond to the United States lawmakers, some of them at least, who stated categorically that Malaysia is in contravention of international laws and was disrespectful of the rights of nations.

“This is totally absurd because, as far as we are concerned, this policy has been adopted by Malaysia for decades, that we are against the presence of any Israeli citizen, not Jews, but Israeli citizens here because they are part and parcel and complicit to the murders, crimes and continuous oppression, colonisation of Palestine and Gaza,” he said when met after the Jelajah Rakan Muda programme in Seremban today.

The prime minister said the US lawmakers appeared to be unaware that several countries imposed restrictions on Israeli nationals entering their territories.

“It turns out they have not followed the developments at all where many countries ban it (Israeli citizens from entering their country) and that Malaysia has banned it for decades,” he said.

Anwar said Malaysia was a sovereign nation entitled to determine its own policies, adding that its position was based on opposition to Israel’s actions in Palestine.