Kuala Lumpur: Pro-Israel academic Bruce Gilley whose events were cancelled by the Ministry of Higher Education has now accused Malaysia of being an “unsafe” country to travel to, despite spending several days here.
Gilley also accused Putrajaya of stirring an “Islamo-fascist mob” after receiving backlash for his remark claiming Malaysian leaders of advocating a “second Holocaust” for Jews.
“I have safely departed from Malaysia, one step ahead of the Islamo-fascist mob whipped up by the government there.
“This is not a safe country to travel to now. Updates to follow,” he wrote on his X account.
Despite his claim, there was no such mob protesting or physically harassing him in the country.
Gilley also said that he would not be accepting any reimbursement of travel and lodging costs from the University of Malaya (UM) after his events were cancelled, calling it “disgraceful behaviour” by the university and the Malaysian government.
Despite not accepting the reimbursement, Gilley then started a crowdfunding campaign to cover the US$2,346 (RM11,500) cost of his trip here.
UM has since apologised for hosting Gilley, and lambasted him for falsely claiming that Malaysia is unsafe for travellers.
Gilley, a professor of political science at Portland State University, was invited by the Department of International and Strategic Studies for three events, starting with a seminar on international relations on Monday.
On Tuesday, Gilley delivered a keynote address titled “Will Malaysia Become an Active Middle Power”. Yesterday, in an X post about the speech, he said “a country whose political leaders advocate a second Holocaust against the Jewish people will never be a serious player in world affairs, and will certainly never be a friend or partner of the US”.
Gilley pointed to the remarks of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Agriculture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.
He has since deleted the post, claiming it was for the safety and well-being of UM staff who invited him.
Prior to his UM events, he had spent several days in Malaysia, even visiting the National Museum.
On his X account, Gilley had mocked an exhibit of the British colonial and the Malayan resistance in the museum.
Gilley is known to be a supporter of Israel, displaying the state's flag on his X account.
He is also a controversial figure among the Western academia for praising Western colonialism and saying it should be “reclaimed”, considered “legitimate”, and even “resurrected”.
In 2017, his article The Case for Colonialism was published in the Third World Quarterly journal and provoked massive controversy resulting in two petitions signed by thousands of academics calling for the editor responsible to be sacked, while 15 of the journal's 34-member editorial board resigned in protest.
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