Malaysia will not leave the Palestinian people to fight alone – Zahid Hamidi
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will not leave the Palestinian people to fight alone, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Repeating the stance expressed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia will not forget, let alone be complacent, in defending the plight of the Palestinian people, who are victims of the cruelty and tyranny of the Israeli Zionist regime.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the President of UMNO, also expressed his congratulations to the Prime Minister for his voice in stating Malaysia’s firm stance in supporting the Palestinian people’s struggle.
Touching on the same matter, he also congratulated Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and Defense Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who are trying to bring the Palestinian people to get treatment at the armed forces hospital in this country.
Ahmad Zahid also expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its active role in leading to the acceptance of Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations.
“This is proof that we are not just playing politics; we are committed. God willing, we will continue to support so that Palestine can breathe the air of independence in the true sense of the word,” he said when delivering the presidential policy speech at the 2024 UMNO General Assembly here today.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said the government will continue to defend Sabah from outside demands.
He also expressed his congratulations to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Legal and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, following the success at the Hague International Court of Holland, France, and Spain in the case of the Sulu Group’s claim.
“This victory means a lot to the sovereignty of the people of Sabah. To our friends from Sabah, we will defend the land of Sabah. We are not willing to have another party claim the land of Sabah; Sabah is an independent state,” he said.
Spanish arbitrator Dr. Gonzalo Stampa, who issued a final award amounting to US$14.9 billion (RM62.59 billion) to eight individuals claiming to be heirs to the Sultanate of Sulu, has been sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court.
Azalina said on Jan 8 that the Spanish Court also banned Stampa from carrying out his duties as an arbitrator for a year.
Malaysia filed a complaint against Stampa together with the Spanish Public Prosecutor on the grounds that he was in contempt of court when he repeatedly disobeyed the orders of the Spanish High Court and continued his actions regarding the Final Award in other countries.
On February 28, 2022, Stampa issued the Final Award to the eight Filipinos involved, and to enforce it, they reportedly tried to seize the assets of the state oil company Petronas in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, in addition to targeting Malaysia’s diplomatic assets in France.
