MANAMA (Bahrain): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia will continue to champion the plight of the Palestinian people and their nation, which faces oppression and brutality.
Responding to an international media report claiming he had been advised not to be too firm on the Hamas-Israel issue to avoid retaliation from the United States, Anwar stressed that Malaysia is a free and sovereign nation.
“We have our own stance and have expressed it firmly on various platforms. We are not choosing to oppose anyone, but wherever there is oppression and cruelty, we must stand in defence of the oppressed,” he said at a press conference after concluding his official visit to Bahrain at the invitation of Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman Hamad Al Khalifa.
Anwar is set to depart for Malaysia at 5pm local time (10 pm Malaysian time) on Thursday (Feb 20).
The Prime Minister also highlighted that Malaysia’s efforts to assist those affected by oppression are not new and have been undertaken for a long time, including support during the Bosnian war and the apartheid era in South Africa.
“On the issue of Palestine, the scale of destruction they have suffered is far greater than any of these past struggles. That is why we have conveyed to our friends in the Gulf countries, the Arab world and the Islamic world that we must provide assistance. In fact, what we have contributed so far, in my view, is too little.
“Perhaps in the coming days, when there are events for Palestine, I want the people to come together and share their views,” he said.
On a separate matter, Anwar dismissed claims by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the government had prevented several foreign leaders from meeting him.
“Which foreign leader wants to meet him? If they want to meet him, what’s the issue? If his old friends wish to meet him, there is no problem.
“Recently, leaders from Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Türkiye visited Malaysia, but none requested to meet him. And if they did, I wouldn’t say no. They are free to meet him, there is nothing wrong with that,” he said.
Anwar stressed that Dr Mahathir’s allegations should not be entertained.
“He makes accusations every day. He claims he has no money, yet his children have over RM1 billion. That is not an allegation, it’s a confession,” he said.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki previously said that two of Dr Mahathir’s children were found to have assets worth over RM1.2 billion.
