PUTRAJAYA, May 7 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had allowed an Israeli shipping firm’s vessel into Malaysia in 2002, whereas he took steps to prohibit them

Anwar was responding to a question about the presence of Israeli firms in the country, after launching the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) here in Putrajaya.

"Remember in 2002, the one who allowed the Israel ship to enter was Tun Mahathir, when he was the prime minister. No justifications were given.

"Then it continued on until I cancelled it. The Cabinet cancelled it. That is our stand. Not allowed,” Anwar said in a short reply.

Last week, news portal Malaysia Now reported that an Israeli ship had docked in Port Klang, less than five months after Anwar announced a ban on Israeli vessels accessing local ports.

The report said that the cargo ship, ZIM Rotterdam, owned by Israeli company Zim Integrated Shipping Services, had docked at Port Klang on April 29, before leaving for China a day later.

The same firm was allowed to dock in Malaysia in 2002 during the first Mahathir administration, with Dr Mahathir claiming he had permitted this to happen on the expectation that the decades-old Gaza conflict would resolve be resolved then.

Anwar’s reply today also comes on the heels of Dr Mahathir’s statement yesterday urging the government to oust two companies — Lockheed Martin and BAE System — that supply arms to Israel.

The companies are sponsors and participants in the ongoing Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security (NatSec) Asia 2024, at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC).

In his statement, Dr Mahathir also urged the government to enforce similar action on any other companies that are found to be supplying weapons to Israel.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said in a statement today that Malaysia practices a free trade policy, which provides avenues for all global industry players to market their products and services in Malaysia.

"Therefore, Malaysia takes the stand to not intervene in the business dealings of any global companies with any particular countries.

"The relationship of several global defence companies with certain countries is a business matter which Malaysia will not interfere with,” Mohamed Khaled added.

Anwar is an outspoken advocate of the Palestinian cause and threw his full support behind Palestine at the start of the ongoing conflict with Israel.