Muslim-majority Malaysia is a staunch supporter of a Palestinian state, however, a photo has been shared in posts that falsely claimed it shows Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s “Palestinian son-in-law”. The New Straits Times newspaper, which published the photo, identified the couple as a woman — who is not one of Anwar’s daughters — and her husband arriving in Kuala Lumpur after they were evacuated from Gaza.
“Aaaaaah! Now we know why he’s so interested in their welfare. Anwar Ibrahim’s son-in-law is a Palestinian,” read a Facebook post from August 26, 2024.
The photo shows a woman wearing a hijab and a man pushing a trolley full of luggage.
Malaysia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and Anwar has defended the country’s ties with Hamas, which launched an unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures, which include hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 42,000 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN has described as reliable.
Of the 251 people abducted that day, 97 are still being held in Gaza, and 34 have been declared dead by the Israeli army.
The photo was shared in similar posts on Facebook and TikTok after Malaysia welcomed 40 injured Palestinian civilians for medical treatment (archived link).
Gaza evacuation
A Google reverse image search found the photo was published by The New Straits Times (NST) newspaper on November 14, 2023 (archived link).
The article reported on the “emotional reunion” between Malaysian woman Nurul Ain Haron and her family at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after she and her Palestinian husband Mohamed A. M. Shaat were evacuated from Gaza.
Anwar has four daughters, but none are named Nurul Ain Haron. His daughters are Nurul Izzah Anwar, Nurul Ilham Anwar, Nurul Nuha Anwar and Nurul Hana Anwar.
AFP could not independently verify if any of them has a Palestinian husband.
The New Straits Times published a video showing the couple’s reunion with Nurul Ain’s family at the airport (archived link).
The newspaper also wrote in a fact check that the couple was “in no way related” to the prime minister (archived link).
“The screengrab is actually that of a Malaysian, Nurul Ain Haron, and her Palestinian husband Mohamed A.M. Shaat,” it said.
Nurul Ain also posted a video on August 27 debunking false claims about her husband, in which she clarified she was not related to Anwar (archived link).
“It’s true that the prime minister and the government helped evacuate me from Gaza, but I am not related to him,” she said in Malay.
“To those spreading this false claim, please stop.”
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