MALAYSIA WILL NOT STOP 'ENGAGEMENT' TO CONVINCE OTHER COUNTRIES TO SUPPORT PALESTINE

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will not stop its engagement and continue to convince other countries to support the Palestine cause and condemn Israel's continued attacks on civilians and ground assaults in Gaza said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

He said Malaysia need to continue efforts to convince not only countries in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) but also countries in the Group of 77 (G77) as well as countries in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), to assist the people of Gaza.

“Engagement need to be continued and we should not be discouraged because we know that countries that have influential powers are the United States, European Union and Latin America.

“We are witnessing one country after another from the Latin America region pledging their support and condemning the atrocities against the people of Gaza,” he said when winding up debate on the Supply Bill 2024 for his ministry in Dewan Rakyat today.

Zambry added that during the meeting today between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte here, Malaysia had stated its stance on the Palestinian issue and the Netherlands respects the stance.

“He (Rutte) listened to the explanation by Malaysia and agrees that with the latest development in Gaza for the past two weeks, the sentiment of the Dutch people has changed. They used to support the Israeli attacks and the European stance, but now the majority of them no longer agree with the continued attacks,” he said.

Zambry added that the people and the Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) need to play an active role in spreading the engagement, including those living abroad.

Speaking of the United States government’s action to send three ‘demarche’ to Malaysia for its firm stance and Malaysia's reluctance to consider Hamas as a terrorist group, he said: “Some have called Malaysia to deliver a protest note to ambassadors of countries that are not in favour...we will take all approaches to make our stance known.”

“Malaysia’s Principle position is clear in the context of the Palestine cause, this is not new but has been Malaysia’s stance for a long time and this must be made known when we interact with them,” he said.

The Parliament session will resume tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA