US Prof Bruce Gilley Leaves Malaysia After Pro-Zionist Rant, Says Malaysia Isn’t Safe
US-based political science professor Bruce Gilley claimed that Malaysia is calling for a second Holocaust against the Jews during his keynote address at Universiti Malaya.
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Universiti Malaya (UM) has cancelled an event today featuring Portland State University political science professor Bruce Gilley after his claims that Malaysia is calling for a second Holocaust against the Jewish people.
Gilley was invited to speak at several events at UM:
- The first was a seminar titled “International Relations Seminar: The Use of IR Theories In Research” on 22 April.
- The second was a Keynote Address titled “Will Malaysia become an active middle power?” on 23 April.
- The third is a lecture titled “Has the Quad Eclipsed Asean?” on 24 April.
- The fourth, which has since been cancelled, is a seminar titled “Reassessing Republican China” on 25 April.
He was also invited to hold a workshop on research methodology for postgraduate students at UM on 24 April.
Before going on a rant in his talk at UM, he went around Kuala Lumpur to visit some of the sights such as the KL Bird Park and the National Museum.
At the National Museum, he remarked on Malaysia’s history of being a former British colony.
Gilley, who advocates bringing back Western colonialism, wrote, “Surprise, surprise: evil Brits forced themselves on hapless Malays who resisted at every turn and finally wrested independence from the scheming colonialists.”
Gilley also commented on the women’s coach in LRT, saying it looked clean, safe and civilised. He added that it was an “efficient metro.”
What did he say in UM?
Gilley claimed that Malaysia is calling for another genocide of Jews during his lecture titled “Will Malaysia become an Active Middle Power?”
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.
Portland State University political science professor Bruce Gilley
Gilley claimed that Malaysian politicians have long followed former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s advice to learn from the Germans on how to kill Jews.
He also claimed that agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu promised a rally that “Israel will soon disappear” in October.
His comments drew backlash from netizens and politicians. Former foreign affairs minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah tagged UM and Wisma Putra demanding an explanation.
Ooi Kok Hin, executive director of the institutional reforms movement Bersih, called Gilley’s words an “irresponsible statement which is not only untrue but jeopardises the career of your local hosts.”
Muda acting president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz said that Gilley’s remarks are a false depiction of Malaysia’s aim and goals for peace and an independent Palestine. She added that academic institutions should be careful about who they invite as speakers and lecturers.
Adakah Menteri KPT telah diberitahu? @ZambryOfficial @wanfayhsal @DrAhmadSamsuri
— Saifuddin Abdullah 🇲🇾 (@saifuddinabd) April 24, 2024
Irresponsible statement which is not only untrue but jeopardizes the career of your local hosts. But you don't care, do you? Knowing full well of the context and still went into business for yourself.
— OKH (@ooikokhin) April 24, 2024
PS. It's not a keynote address. Stop exaggerating to seek validation
This is absolutely misleading and unacceptable.
— amiraaisya (@_amiraaisya) April 24, 2024
His statements are falsely depicting Malaysia’s aim and goals towards peace for an independent Palestine state.
We have never advocated for a second Holocaust. In fact, it is the Zionist government of Israel that is currently… https://t.co/DJIspVF4B1
After the public backlash, Gilley said he had removed his previous post claiming Malaysia is advocating for a Holocaust against the Jews to protect his colleagues at UM. However, he still uploaded a screenshot of his old post.
He claimed that the quote from his keynote address reflects his views alone and that he regretted the alleged harm caused to his academic colleagues.
It’s not explained what harm came to his academic colleagues at UM or how they are targeted until their alleged safety is compromised.
In another tweet, Gilley said he has “safely departed” from Malaysia and he’s “one step ahead of the Islamo-fascist mob whipped up by the government here.”
He claimed Malaysia is not a safe country to travel to now with updates to follow. Netizens pointed out that the fact he left Malaysia “without a scratch” after causing a furore showed that the country is safe.
READ MORE: UM Apologises For Inviting Controversial Speaker, Gilley Sets Up Crowdfund For Himself
The fact that you left without a scratch when the whole country hates you tells you how safe it is lol and the audacity to cry like a victim 😂 what a joke
— thelandgraab (@shinzlandgraab) April 25, 2024
I take that u say “safely departed” as a sign Malaysia is the safest country 😂 if not you can’t even get out of here bruh
— lovegood (@lovegoodshi) April 25, 2024
Gilley is known to be controversial
It’s not the first time that Gilley is controversial and has shared his contrarian views on Twitter.
One of his largest controversies was when he advocated for the return of Western colonialism in his highly controversial peer-reviewed article “The Case for Colonialism.” It was published in an advance online edition of the scientific journal Third World Quarterly in 2017.
In his article, Gilley claimed that colonialism was both objectively beneficial and subjectively legitimate. He argues that colonialism brought more good things and wanted to do good than bad, especially by introducing “good” colonial governance to countries needing it.
Fifteen members of the journal’s board resigned over Gilley’s article. The article was retracted with Gilley’s assent after the editor received threats of violence. However, it was republished in the National Association of Scholar’s journal Academic Questions in April 2018.
Gilley allegedly said he believes genocide is a moral wrong but colonialism is not. He has responded to the critics in a second article entitled “The Case for Colonialism: A Response to My Critics” published in the spring of 2022.
He was embroiled in another publishing controversy for his biography of Sir Alan Burns entitled “The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns’s Epic Defense of the British Empire.”
The book allegedly espoused a pro-colonial and white nationalist perspective. It was published by conservative publishing house Regnery Gateway in September 2021.
Gilley has a positive view of colonialism from his years working as a journalist in Hong Kong. During his stay, the British transferred their crown colony Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997.
The tremendous fear of the Hong Kong people prior to the transfer of power to China made a huge impression on him.
EW Netherlands interviewed Gilley regarding this and wrote at the end of his statement, “Many [HK people] fled. What do you mean: British ‘oppression’?”
In the same interview, Gilley said Asians are doing more to stay on the colonial track. He used the National Museum in Singapore as an example saying it portrayed British colonialism in all positive tones.
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