Hundreds gather to voice their opposition to the US president’s participation in the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators demonstrated against US President Donald Trump’s visit to Malaysia for the ASEAN summit.
Protesters gathered in separate demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur’s Independence Square and the city’s Ampang Park area on Sunday morning and evening to oppose Trump’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
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Trump was in Kuala Lumpur to attend the 47th ASEAN Summit, where he oversaw the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Cambodia and Thailand and announced a series of trade deals.
In Independence Square, demonstrators wearing keffiyehs braved the midday sun and chanted “Free, free Palestine.”
Asma Hanim Mahoud said she traveled 300 km (185 miles) from Kelantan state in northeastern Malaysia to take part in the protest and another demonstration on Friday outside the U.S. Embassy.
“People with a conscience know that Trump is enabling genocide. Without him, Israel cannot kill all the children and people in Gaza,” she told Al Jazeera.
“It’s not rocket science.”
Mahoud was dismayed that the morning protests had been moved by authorities from Ampang Park, near the ASEAN summit venue, where protests had taken place earlier in the week.
According to Malaysian news agency Bernama, police expected between 1,000 and 1,500 demonstrators at the anti-Trump rally on Sunday.
The voter turnout, while much lower, came from a diverse section of Malaysian society.
Choo Chon Kai, a leader of the Malaysian Socialist Party, said he was attending the rally to protest U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.
“This is a solidarity rally against US imperialism as well as solidarity with the Palestinian people and people around the world who are victims of US imperialism,” Choo told Al Jazeera.
Choo also said he was disappointed that the protest was moved from near the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, where Trump and other world leaders were gathering for the summit.
Later in the evening, demonstrators gathered at Ampang Park, the original gathering site of the protests, to demonstrate against the US President’s visit.
“We just want to make it clear that we are against US policies, but unfortunately our police were very hostile to the protest and even blocked off the area where we wanted to protest,” Choo said.
Kuala Lumpur resident Mursihidah, who asked not to be identified by name, said she and her husband had been taking part in pro-Palestine demonstrations since 2023.
Morsihidah said protesters should no longer have to take to the streets after more than two years of war.
Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire agreement earlier this month – an agreement also overseen by Trump – but violence continued and each side accused the other of violating the ceasefire.
“I honestly don’t know why we’re still doing this,” she told Al Jazeera.
“This shouldn’t be happening, but someone has to be their voice. We have to be their voice because they don’t have a voice.”
