JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 17 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed disappointment and sadness over the backlash from some parties against the government’s move to bring injured Palestinians from Gaza to receive medical treatment in Malaysia.
He said some even went to extremes in criticising the noble effort when it was indeed just a small act of compassion and kindness towards the Palestinian people who have been suffering and enduring Israel’s genocidal acts in Gaza.
What is worse, Anwar said some also asked him to go and become the Prime Minister of Palestine.
“Israel shoots, bombs, destroys houses, kills babies and women. Many Palestinians were injured, men were jailed, women were raped, and when we brought those injured here (for medical treatment), some people started to criticise, saying I shouldn’t be the Prime Minister of Malaysia, telling me to go be the Prime Minister of Palestine if I really wanted to help.”
Anwar said this when officiating the closing of the Southern Zone MADANI Rakyat programme at Dataran UTM, Skudai, on Saturday.
“There are many others who came before them (the Palestinians), hundreds of thousands of Rohingya and Achenese refugees had also come here…we provided protection to them until the tension in their countries subsided,” he said.
The Prime Minister said he also found it absurd when some civil servants also fell for the criticisms, rather than being proud and congratulating the government and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) for the effort.
“I hope they can open their mind a little bit because we are the first country in Asia that brings in the injured Palestinians for treatment. How is this possible? Because our Cabinet, our leaders in the Unity Government agreed to take the common responsibility to do this,” he said.
