Students take anti-Trump protest to Anwar's doorstep in Putrajaya

A group of students today staged a noisy protest outside the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya, calling on the government to cancel its invitation to President Donald Trump.

The protest, participated by a multiracial group of students from various local universities, was organised by the Oppose Trump Secretariat, a coalition of pro-Palestine students that has been behind a series of protests and flash mobs outside the US embassy and other parts of Kuala Lumpur in recent days.

It comes a day after a pro-Palestine protest at Universiti Malaya (UM) was disrupted by campus authorities, sparking anger at the university administration that last year faced condemnation for inviting a pro-Zionist speaker to a UM forum.

Students today marched outside the PMO complex, beating drums and chanting slogans as they carried placards condemning Trump and Israel.

Several representatives entered the building to deliver a memorandum calling on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to cancel his invitation to Trump, and for the Malaysian government to divest from investments linked to Israel.

The group has planned further protests in the coming days, including convoys, flash mobs, and a gathering called "Dump Trump" outside Ampark Park on Oct 26, the day of Trump's arrival.

Anwar has come under increasing pressure to rescind his invitation to the US president to attend the Asean Summit later this month, even as Putrajaya enlists politicians, business groups and government-linked religious spokesmen in a campaign to justify the move.

Last week, Federal Territories mufti Ahmad Fauwaz Fadzil came under fire from Muslims and pro-Palestinian supporters after he accused those opposed to Trump's presence of being clouded by "emotions and radical sentiments".

The statement drew immediate condemnation from Muslim intellectual group Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), which described Trump as a "devilish figure".

"There is no greater betrayal to the Palestinian cause than to welcome in our land the greatest ally of their oppressors," said Muslim activist and IRF director Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa.

At the heart of the government's argument is that Trump's presence cannot be avoided due to Washington's role as a dialogue partner in Asean, the bloc currently chaired by Malaysia.

Yesterday, prominent thinker Chandra Muzaffar said that while he understood the "difficult situation" Anwar is facing, he has no choice but to send "a polite and dignified letter of disinvitation" to Trump.

"President Trump has been so deeply immersed in the on-going genocide of the Palestinian people that any positve gesture towards him, however symbolic, would be viewed with utter repugnance by a huge segment of the Malaysian nation," Chandra told MalaysiaNow.