Nick Adams, an influencer known for harshly criticising Islam, was nominated for the role of US ambassador to the Muslim-majority country.
Dozens of demonstrators have gathered outside the United States embassy in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to protest against the proposed appointment of pro-Israel conservative author and political commentator Nick Adams as the US envoy.
Adams, a self-styled “alpha male” known for harshly criticising Islam, was named by US President Donald Trump last week as the White House’s nominee for the role.
Protesters called on Malaysia’s government to exercise its right under international norms to reject Adams’s proposed appointment.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters on Friday it was too early in the process to decide on Adams’s appointment, but that his government would give the matter due consideration.
“At the same time, we will seek to protect the good relations between Malaysia and the United States,” Anwar said, according to the Reuters news agency.
A naturalised US citizen originally from Australia, Adams has cultivated a brash social media persona using a macho branding to weigh in on cultural issues and appeal to an audience of mainly young men.
His posts showing support for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza have angered Muslims in Malaysia, fuelling a rare backlash against a foreign diplomatic appointment in the Southeast Asian country.
A memorandum of protest submitted by demonstrators to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur asked Trump to reconsider his nomination. It cited “divisive rhetoric” used by Adams and characterised his postings as insensitive towards Malaysia’s multicultural society, which has a majority of mostly Muslim ethnic Malays and has long been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause.
“An ambassador’s task is to be the bridge between two countries, and we don’t want that person to be someone who destroys that bridge instead,” Muhammad Izuan Ahmad Kasim, a member of Anwar’s People’s Justice Party, told Reuters.
The nomination comes at a critical time for Malaysia, which has until August 1 to reach a trade deal with Washington to avoid a steep 25 percent tariff imposed on its exports to the US. Trump suggested tariffs could be avoided if Malaysia shifts manufacturing to the US.