Hamas leader congratulates Anwar on appointment as PM

In his congratulatory letter, Ismail said Hamas looked forward to Anwar's continued support of the Palestinian cause and wished him success in leading Malaysia and the causes of the Islamic ummah and its peoples.

"As we congratulate Your Excellency, we remember with a great sense of pride your appreciated stands in support of the cause of our Palestinian people and the blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa.

"We look forward to continuing this path with more courageous and intrepid stands until our people obtain their full rights, our country is liberated from the vicious occupation, and our independent Palestinian state is established, with Al-Quds as its eternal capital," he said in the letter dated Nov 24.

A copy of the letter was shared with Malaysian media late Friday.

Anwar, 75, took the oath of office as the 10th Prime Minister before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara on Thursday.