Maintaining sovereignty amid external pressures

However, such a letter is a political gesture, not a policy. The eight lawmakers cannot switch off American security assistance. That lever sits with the executive, and the State Department is under no obligation to touch it.

It must be emphasised too that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was on solid ground when he called the demand misguided and reminded Washington that Malaysia's position on Israeli passport holders has stood since the country's independence, long before his government.

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