US embassy denies American academic’s claim Malaysia unsafe for travel

US embassy denies American academic’s claim Malaysia not safe to travel

MALAYSIA is a safe place to travel, the US Embassy said today, following claims by a visiting American academician that it is not

The South China Morning Post reported the embassy’s rebuttal to Bruce Gilley’s statement, saying there was no change to the US travel advisory, which remains at level 1, for Malaysia.

Level 1 is the safest and level 4 is “do not travel”.

The US State Department website showed that Malaysia has been Level 1 since its last update on July 24, 2023.

The department said the US and Malaysia have healthy bilateral ties.

“Economic ties are robust, and there is a long history of people-to-people exchanges. Malaysia has a diverse democracy and is an important partner in US engagement with Southeast Asia,” it said.

Earlier Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim called Gilley a “mediocre scholar” who should not have been invited to be a visiting professor in Malaysia.

Gilley, a political science professor at Portland State University, said in a talk at Universiti Malaya that Malaysia was pushing for a “second Holocaust against the Jewish people”.

Gilley made the remarks in a keynote address entitled “Will Malaysia become an active middle power?” on April 23.

Universiti Malaya has apologised for the controversy arising over his “pro-Zionist”.

It said it has cancelled all programmes and activities scheduled to be attended by the US speaker. – April 26, 2024.