KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday defended the right of all Muslims to criticize their Jewish oppressors, and slammed the West for being “under the thumb” of Jews.

The premier, who is due to end his 22 years in power at the end of the week, said the Islamic world has a right to condemn Israel and its supporters for killing Palestinians and for taking Muslim land to give it to the Jews.

“Are we not allowed to say that we are angry with the Jews?” said Dr Mahathir . “Are the Jews some kind of creature who cannot be condemned in any way?”

“I am not anti-Semitic ... I am against these Jews who kill Muslims and the Jews who support the killers of Muslims,” he told a news conference.

Dr Mahathir also lashed out at the West, which he tagged as anti-Muslim people, for double standards in protecting Jews while allowing others to insult Islam.

“I condemned the Europeans as much as I condemned the Jews,” he said.

“You say you are not under the influence of the Jews, and yet when I criticize the Jews, the whole of the European Union wants to condemn me.

“But when somebody condemns the Muslims, calls my Holy Prophet (pbuh) ‘terrorist’, did the European Union say anything? Which shows that they are under the thumb of the Jews.”

The veteran premier also took a swipe at Western trade practices for “lacking morals”, saying that Europeans would “colonize new land” in order to expand their trade.

“I don’t care if the Europeans don’t like me. I have European friends, but when they do something wrong, I’m going to tell them it is wrong,” he said.

Mahathir Mohamad, one of Southeast Asia’s longest elected leaders, sparked off global controversy when he called on leaders at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit, on Oct 16, to fight back against their Jewish oppressors who “ruled the world by proxy”.

Dr Mahathir said then: “The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. But today the Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.”

The premier, who has been credited for transforming Malaysia into one of the region’s thriving economic powers, brushed off fears of an economic backlash as a result of his comments and the refusal to withdraw his OIC statement following condemnation by Washington, the European Union and Australia.

“I think our country can weather a lot of stress.

“In the past, they have tried to kill us economically, they robbed us of our money, they impoverished us. But we manage,” he told reporters.

The Malaysian leader is due on Friday to step down as premier. He will be succeeded by his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Known for his controversial speeches and outspoken criticism of Western economic and political practices, Dr Mahathir has long been seen as a voice for the Muslim world and developing countries.

US THREAT: The Malaysian prime minister brushed off a threat by the US Senate to cut 1.2 million dollars in military aid over his criticism of Jews.

“It doesn’t make any difference to us. We don’t really need that money. I think we can find that one million dollars here,” he said.

He also appeared to imply that the Senate vote was proof of his claim that Jews rule the world by proxy.

“They are very annoyed about what I said about the Jews. This is their reaction, so what I say is true.”

The US Senate voted unanimously on Monday to tie the military training aid to a report by the State Department determining whether Malaysia “supports and promote religious freedoms, including tolerance for people of the Jewish faith”.

The move still needs to win support from the House of Representatives, which has already passed a resolution condemning Dr Mahathir over his remarks at the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference earlier this month.

On Tuesday, in response to the Senate vote, he said: “They (the US) want to dictate to the world. We are all being run by the US Senate.” AFP