On Palestine Action, Imperial Soft Power, and Malaysia's Ties to the UK-Israel War Machine

Last week, on 17th December 2025, activists disrupted the Annual Chevening Alumni Reception in Kuala Lumpur, where they confronted the British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Ajay Sharma, for the UK's role in arming and funding the genocide of Palestinians, while holding pictures of Qesser Zuhrah, one of the actionists and hunger strikers incarcerated for taking action against Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit.

This action follows months of actions by activists in Malaysia targeting the British Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, including wheatpasting for Palestine and Sudan, demonstrations at the UK Embassy, and the disruption of the British High Commissioner at an "AI for Education" event at Bett Asia last October.

These actions aimed at pressuring the UK to end its material and diplomatic support for the ongoing Israel-backed genocide in Palestine and UAE-backed genocide in Sudan, to shut down Zionist weapons manufacturers like Elbit Systems, and to cease its relentless targeting of pro-Palestine actionists, including the Filton 24 and Brize Norton 5, detained without trial for taking action against the UK-Israeli war machine.

This recent disruption also confronted the role of neocolonial soft power institutions like Chevening in the UK, the Goethe Institute in Germany, USAID and the National Democratic Institute/the National Endowment of Democracy in the US. By co-opting and funding social movements in the Global South, these imperialist institutions are designed to manufacture consent for their imperialist agendas, whitewash imperialist crimes, while paying movements for their silence and complicity.

Through their funding of "emerging leaders" from around the world, scholarship programs like Chevening enable the UK to project themselves as beacons of social progress, while capturing local leadership, watering down and neutralizing any effective activism, while condemning radical praxis that actually confronts the interconnected systems of capitalism, imperialism, and genocide.

Yet, we know that when Palestinian Chevening Scholars like Dr. Maisara Al Rayyes are murdered by the same Israeli weapons that the UK funds and provides, when youth and students are tortured at the hands of the UK government's war machines and prison-industrial complex - these same institutions are not only silent. They are complicit.

The UK government's brutal targeting of Palestine Action is just part and parcel of its long and bloody history of suppressing anti-colonial resistance. The British empire once imprisoned thousands of anti-colonial freedom fighters in Malaya under Emergency laws, while placing hundreds and thousands more in concentration camps. Today, it imprisons Palestine Action actionists under similar charges of terrorism. It was only this December that the UK recognised the Batang Kali massacre, when over 24 rubber plantation workers were murdered by British soldiers during its bloody war against anti-colonial forces on 12 December 1948, 7 months after the Nakba. Imperialist tactics have evolved but their objective remains the same: the violent punishment of any form of resistance to the war machine.

The courageous acts of the Palestine Action activists in directly attacking the UK-Israel war machine, including the Filton 24 and the Brize Norton 5, reminds us that the most vital and radical action we can take for Palestine is still at home. Successful direct action by Palestine Action in the UK has caused the loss of a £2.1bn contract between Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit and the UK Ministry of Defence. UK-based machinery supplier Hydrafeed has also broken off all ties with Elbit Systems, while Allianz and Aviva have also broken ties with Elbit Systems.

Their courageous actions are a reminder that we must look at how our own social, political, and economic systems are fueled by imperialism and genocide. As a former British colony, we are not free from complicity.

The Malaysian government maintains links to the UK imperialist war machine, especially BAE Systems, one of the UK's largest weapons manufacturers which provides Israel with the white phosphorus bombs and components for Israel's F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighter jets used to massacre Palestinians. The Southeast Asia regional headquarters for BAE Systems is based in Kuala Lumpur, where it is also the largest supplier of the Malaysian Armed Forces.

Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia is a strategic partner for MBDA, a merger between Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo, all of whom are involved in the Palestinian genocide.

BAE Systems was also a platinum sponsor of the biennual NATSEC military expo in May 2024, which saw the signing of over RM 8 billion in contracts between weapons manufacturers and the Malaysian Ministry of Defence. Protestors against the convention were intimidated and called into questioning by police.

The courage of the Palestine Action actionists is a call for us in Malaysia to also confront the ties between our own institutions and the genocidal war machine, whether it is through its collaborations with BAE Systems, or joint military training with the US, UK, and other imperialist forces. Protests, boycotts, and pressure campaigns are important but we must escalate our tactics to directly attack and dismantle these institutions.

Today, Palestine Action activists incarcerated by the UK are on hunger strike to protest their systematic mistreatment and the continued involvement of the UK in the genocide of Palestinians. While a few actionists have paused their hunger strike, Heba Muraisi (Day 55), T Hoxha (Day 48), Kamran Ahmed (Day 47), and Lewie Chiaramello (Day 33) are continuing to put their bodies and lives on the line to stop the genocide of Palestinians, with Heba being at imminent risk of death after Day 55 of refusing food.

In the spirit of international solidarity, we echo the hunger strikers and anti-imperialist voices in Malaysia in demanding:

For the UK

1. To end its material and diplomatic support for the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.
2. To end all censorship and provide immediate bail for the incarcerated Palestine Action activists
3. To guarantee the right to a fair trial
4. To deproscribe Palestine Action as a t-rror organisation
5. Shut down all Elbit Systems sites in the UK

For Malaysia

1. The Malaysian government, military and public universities to cut ties with all war-profiteering imperialist corporations, including but not limited to the UK-based zionist weapons manufacturer BAE systems
2. To shut down and remove all zionist weapons manufacturers currently headquartered or operating in Malaysia, including BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, MBDA, Leonardo, and more.

GEGAR

27 DECEMBER 2025