Mahathir makes apparently sarcastic comments on Bondi Beach terror attack, draws flak

Former two-time Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, once again courted controversy by speaking out on the Bondi Beach terror attack and giving a seemingly back-handed compliment to Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

In a Facebook post on Dec. 18, about four days after the shooting at Bondi Beach that left 15 victims dead and saw one gunman killed, Mahathir had this to say:

𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗜

1. 70,000 + Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered.

2. More Palestinians are being killed since the ceasefire.

3. Golan Heights, Lebanon and Syria have seen Palestinians being killed.

4. Of course all these have nothing to do with what happened in Bondi beach, Australia.

5. It is because of evil anti-Semitism, ISIS and visit to the Philippines.

6. I congratulate the Prime Minister of Australia for his insight. Yes. I agree with him that it was all because of evil anti-Semitism.

DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD

18 December 2025

Mahathir did not offer any condolences to the families of the victims in the post, instead referring to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with more Palestinians being killed despite a ceasefire brokered between militant group Hamas and Israel.

He said "of course", these events have nothing to do with the terror attack, and "agreed" with Albanese that it was "all because of evil anti-Semitism".

The gunmen targeted and killed some of the attendees of a Jewish religious service, before they were confronted by Ahmed el Ahmed, a Muslim immigrant from Syria, who tackled one of the gunmen, getting shot himself in the process.

Investigations by the Australian intelligence services have revealed that the gunmen visited Davao in the Philippines before the attack.

Davao is known for its conflicts over extremism, but to date, there has been no definitive evidence that the Bondi Beach gunmen were in contact with extremists in Davao.

Following the attack, Albanese said there is "no place" in Australia for anti-Semitism.

Likely sarcastic remarks

Mahathir's likely sarcastic remarks appeared to link the killings in Gaza by Israeli forces to the Bondi Beach attack.

With one gunman shot dead by police and the other having only recently emerged from a coma in hospital, little definitive evidence of a motive has been presented.

Both religious and secular organisations and individuals around the world, including those in Singapore, condemned the act of violence and offered their condolences to the victims' families.

While some commenters applauded Mahathir's remarks, others criticised them, slamming him for seemingly being unable to simply express his condolences, instead of trying to politicise the incident.

Still others questioned what he had done to help the Palestinians during his time as prime minister.

Top image from Mahathir Mohamad's Facebook page.