GEORGE TOWN, May 30 — The Penang state assembly today unanimously passed a motion in support of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) order for Israel to cease its attacks on Rafah in Palestine.
The motion, submitted by Gooi Hsiao Leung (PH-Bukit Tengah) without prior notice, also strongly condemned Israel’s actions.
“To date, 36,000 Palestinians have been killed, and essential living infrastructure has been destroyed. The United Nations (UN) also informed that 1.1 million people in Palestine will experience starvation and hunger since the start of the attack on Rafah,” said Gooi.
The motion was passed unanimously without debate, with a majority of the assemblymen standing up to express their support.
The ICJ on Friday ordered Israel to immediately stop its military offensive on Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip that has been under attack since May 6, and asked Israel to keep the Rafah border crossing open to allow unimpeded access of essential services and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Earlier, the assembly also approved the appointment of the Appeals Board members under the Penang Freedom of Information Enactment 2010 (Enactment 16) for a three-year term from June 1 until May 31, 2027.
The members of the board consist of Datuk Baldev Singh Gurchan Singh as chairman, Datuk Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor as deputy chairman, followed by Harinder Singh Malkit Singh, Carolyn Oh Li Lin, Datuk Nagarethinam Rengasamy Pillay and Regina Amalorpava Mary Aboorvasamy as members.
The first meeting of the Second Session of the 15th Penang State Legislative Assembly, which commenced on May 24, also saw the submission of 80 oral questions and 789 written questions.
The sitting was adjourned sine die. — Bernama
