JOHOR BARU, Aug 17 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has today expressed his disappointment and sadness after several Malaysians condemned and belittled the country’s efforts in bringing injured Palestinians here to receive treatment.
According to state news agency Bernama, Anwar said it was just a small move that Putrajaya could undertake, out of compassion and kindness toward the Gazans — who have been victims of the oppression by Israel’s Zionist regime.
“Israel’s cruelty involves shooting, bombing, destroying homes, killing babies and women. Many Palestinians were injured, men were jailed, women were raped,” he reportedly said during the closing ceremony of the Madani Rakyat Programme 2024 for the southern zone at Dataran UTM here.
“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 even in the past, Malaysia had also given shelter to Rohingya and Aceh refugees.
“There are many others who came before [the Palestinians], hundreds of thousands of Rohingya and Acehnese refugees had also come here…we provided protection to them until the tension in their countries subsided,” he said.
The prime minister also said he was puzzled that some civil servants were also influenced by such criticisms from the Opposition, who did not even bother to thank Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) officers for the operation.
“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.
Two Airbus A-400M aircraft of the Royal Malaysian Air Force transported injured Palestinians to Subang Air Base, Selangor. — Bernama pic
Regarding the criticism of the government’s decision to use RMAF’s aircraft in the operation instead of commercial flights, Anwar explained that this was due to safety risks, particularly in areas near the Egyptian border.
“We picked up [the Palestinians] at the border, and negotiations with the Egyptian government were necessary. One of the conditions was that we had to use air force planes equipped with the necessary gear due to the risks involved.
“The Palestinians were aware of the risks, such as the possibility of being targeted by Israeli missiles, so those on board, for instance, a mother accompanying her child, understood the dangers,” he said.
Anwar added that the permission to bring the Palestinians was also due in part to the close relationship between Malaysia and Egypt, as well as with other Middle Eastern countries.
“I called the Egyptian president to request cooperation because it would have been impossible to bring them here without Egypt’s cooperation. This was made possible because of our good relations with Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran, which enabled us to carry out this operation,” he said.
Yesterday, two Airbus A-400M aircraft of the RMAF transported injured Palestinians to Subang Air Base, Selangor.
The aircraft, which departed from Al Maza Air Force Base in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday night, carried a total of 41 patients and 86 of their relatives.
All the injured Palestinians will be treated at the Tuanku Mizan Armed Forces Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, while the uninjured relatives will be housed in a transit location provided by the Ministry of Defence.
