JOHOR BARU, April 11 — Umno Youth urged the national unity government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today to take a stronger stand on issues related to Islam, especially Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.
The wing’s vice chief, Mohd Hairi Mad Shah, said the continued oppression of Palestinians by the Zionist regime has gone on for too long with no solution in sight.
He said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) must also play a greater role in the matter, as Malaysia under Anwar’s leadership has been vocal about the issues.
“I want to see Malaysia return to its former glory where our leaders dared to voice its views and condemned the cruelty of the Zionist regime against the Palestinians,” he said after handing over of Ramadan goodies to students at the Kolej Kemahiran Johor in Kampung Ungku Mohsin here today.
Mohd Hairi was commenting on the incident last week in which Israeli security forces were recorded mercilessly assaulting Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Last Friday, Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh sent memorandum condemning Israel’s cruelty to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, and urged all Islamic countries to unite in opposing the violence and cruelty.
Yesterday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir confirmed receiving the memorandum and said his ministry was aware of Umno Youth’s proposals on the Palestinian issue.
Mohd Hairi today said Umno Youth’s new leadership has been bold in expressing its position and condemning the actions of the Israeli military.
“This time round, we are not just speaking out or making media statements, but we also held a peaceful assembly at the Kampung Baru mosque in Kuala Lumpur before sending the protest memorandum to the Foreign Ministry.
“We hope that our commitment to the issue will continue. We will also follow the current developments on the issue with Datuk Seri (Zambry) and continue in our efforts to fight for the fate of the Palestinian people,” he said.
Last Wednesday, Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem for the second night in a row and brutalised Palestinian worshippers.
Malaysia along with several Islamic countries as well as OIC have strongly condemned the incident, which has renewed attention on the atrocities Israel has been inflicting on Palestine.
