KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said that Malaysia is committed to upholding international law and is dedicated to working diplomatically with other countries to prevent the rising death toll in Gaza.
He said that the issue at hand caused by Israeli retaliation for the attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas has both everything and nothing to do with international laws.
“Malaysia believes in upholding international law. In fact, our security and prosperity are predicated on the primacy of the rules that govern the interactions between states.
“It's about the law because it's crucial to stand up for it during dangerous times, especially for countries that claim to support international rules,” he said during his speech at the 2023 Asean Law Association General Assembly and Asean Law Conference here.
He also highlighted how some nations claim that it has "nothing to do with the law", and how despite their advocating for a rules-based international order, tend to suspend such principles when it comes to Israel.
Anwar expressed concerns over Israel's brutal occupation of the Palestinian territories and its flagrant disregard for the rules-based international order, highlighting the inconsistency in certain countries' stances.
He added that maintaining faith in the sanctity of these laws becomes challenging when some nations exhibit an unwavering commitment to the iron-fisted tactics of occupation forces, characterised by brutality, genocidal intentions, and nefarious ends.
Yesterday, Anwar joined the worldwide condemnation of the bombing of a hospital in Gaza which killed 500 Palestinians, said to be from an Israeli air strike.
He reiterated the need to end the Israel-Hamas war, highlighting that women and children will bear the brunt of the violence.
United Nations said that Gaza has seen 3,500 dead from Israel’s disproportionate response to Hamas’ October 7 bloody border incursion, and needs huge amounts of humanitarian aid of around 100 trucks per day.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also denounced Israel’s backers for granting the country “impunity” in its war in Gaza, as US President Joe Biden conducted a solidarity visit.
The 57-member bloc of Muslim-majority countries “deplores the international positions that back the brutal aggression against the Palestinian people, and grant Israel impunity, taking advantage of the double standards that provide cover for the occupying power”.
