Questions after Malaysian Gaza aid NGO leaders are put on FBI 'terror blacklist'

Malaysia is seeking answers over why three citizens linked to a charity delivering aid to Gaza were put on the US terror watch list, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution said on Monday.

The minister said he had been aware of the FBI blacklisting for a number of days, but was not yet sure of the reasons behind the move.

"I contacted Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain two days ago to obtain a clearer picture and was informed that the FBI had indeed made a request," Saifuddin said according to local media.

“However, we require more details before we can provide further information as I am not willing to give out anything ambiguous."

The minister's remarks follow the circulation of a leaked letter from the Malaysian Home Ministry naming three citizens who had been listed by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC).

The letter, addressed to aid organisation Ops Ihsan, instructed the group to ensure that the three named individuals are no longer involved in their work.

Ops Ihsan, a strategic collaboration between NGOs and the Malaysian government, includes several NGOs and works on aid to Palestine, among other places.

Last week, Ops Ihsan secretariat chairman Jismi Johari confirmed that the letter had been received and that the organisation was looking into the matter.

Since the beginning of Israel's latest assault on Gaza in October, Ops Ihsan has delivered at least three shipments of humanitarian aid via Egypt.

Israel has imposed a crippling siege on Gaza as part of its war, depriving around two million Palestinians of everyday needs, including access to clean water, food, medicine and electricity.

Israel has made several damaging allegations against aid workers and organisations in Gaza, including claiming that employees of the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees were involved in the 7 October attack on Israel.

Following the allegations, the US and several Western states cut crucial funding to UNRWA without verifying the Israeli claims.

The TSC, which made the recent request to Malaysian authorities, blacklists individuals thought to be a security threat to the US. Most individuals on the watchlist are non-US citizens, according to the TSC website.

The TSC does not publicly confirm whether individuals are on its list.