Asia | Banyan

In South-East Asia, the war in Gaza is roiling emotions

The governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have responded very differently

Illustration of a politician balancing on a ball holding the Palestinian flag in his right hand and the flags of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in his left.
Illustration: Lan Truong

FAR MORE than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war in Gaza is rattling public opinion in three key South-East Asian countries: Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The first two have Muslim-majority populations, and Singapore, largely ethnic-Chinese, has a Muslim minority of 16%. As on campuses in America and in street protests in Europe, the sympathies among those who are concerned about the conflict—and who in Singapore include many young non-Muslims—are for Palestinians suffering from Israel’s heavy-handed prosecution of the war.

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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “A delicate balancing act”

From the May 11th 2024 edition

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