Malaysia slams Israel

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Malaysia slams Israel-Photo-11

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia, whose official religion is Islam, has joined the chorus of nations condemning Israel and calls for help for the Palestinians in Gaza.

Yesterday Malaysia, who until recently held the chairmanship of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC), even held an emergency session of its Parliament to discuss the issue.

As if to reflect how serious the government was about the issue, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi personally tabled 10 resolutions related to the conflict.

Abdullah, who is chairman of Malaysia's ruling National Front coalition, later handed the resolutions over to Palestinian ambassador to Malasyia, Abdelaziz Aboughosh to show the support of the Muslim-majority country.

But it was not just the ruling party. Yesterday was a rare occasion when even the opposition had to support the government's move - more so when a crucial by-election is taking place in the Muslim-majority east coast state of Terengganu.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim even praised the government for the special parliament session.

Outside parliament, joining the chorus in condemning not just Israel but its strongest ally USA was Abdullah's predecessor, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, known for his outspokeness against the West. Anwar was Mahathir's heir-apparent until he was sacked as deputy premier in 1997.

There were also calls by various quarters in Malaysia to boycott American goods including Starbucks and Coca-Cola. But Abdulah's deputy Najib Razak who is due to take over as premier after March was more careful when answering reporters' questions. He said any boycott is up to the individual and the government cannot be involved. This is because most local franchisees of such comapnies may be owned by Malaysians while some workers may be Muslims whose livelihood may be affected.

A picture paints a thousand words. Please view the accompanying press reports from Malaysia's two leading tabloid dailies, the Star and New Straits Times to get the full story.