Are our politicians sincere with their pro-Palestine advocacy?
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The government recently organised a Palestinian Liberation Rally at the Axiata Area in Bukit Jalil on August 3, with 12,000 people thronging the indoor arena to show their solidarity for the Palestinians who are being subject to a relentless genocide campaign by Israel.
This is the second rally organised by Putrajaya after its first rally on October 23 last year, 16 days after the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel. That rally was organised to protest the bombardment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army.
The second rally was held for a similar purpose but with an additional reason: to condemn the assassination of former Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran on July 31.
As someone who has been observing how both the unity government and Perikatan Nasional (PN) responded to the Gaza genocide, I could not help but notice that both parties appear to be engaging in a competition on who is more pro-Palentinian than the other. (or what the Malays would say: “yang terpaling Palestin sangat”)
With the genocide being seen from the religious lens by the Muslims in this country (given the significance of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the West Bank of Palestine to the Muslims), this competition between Anwar’s government and the opposition is also about who is more Islamic than the other when it comes to Palestine.
Since the Oct 7 attacks, we have seen how the government would organise rallies after rallies, and PN would appear to "correspond" to the rallies by organising its own rallies that feature thousands of participants as well.
It is almost like these back-and-forth rallies between the government and the rallies are nothing but a mere show of who is the better ally to the besieged Palestine, which begs a question: Are our politicians sincere about fighting for Palestine?
To answer this question, allow me to first take all of you to the topic of Palestinian refugee rights recognition in our country.
At present, 602 Palestinian refugees are living in this country, where they, as well as their peers (such as the Syrians and Rohingyas), are not accorded rights such as the right to seek employment, educational rights, and other human rights since Malaysia is not a signatory of the United Nations Convention of Refugees 1951, which safeguards the rights and protection of those granted asylum by the country sheltering them.
Putrajaya considers refugees and asylum seekers to be undocumented, or illegal migrants under the 1959/1963 Immigration Act. With the government making zero distinction between refugees and undocumented migrants, refugees are vulnerable to arrest for immigration offences and may be subject to detention, prosecution and punishment, including whipping and deportation.
The lack of recognition for refugee rights in Malaysia affects Palestinians too, as those living here with no job opportunities have resorted to opening up their own food and pastry businesses to make ends meet, just like the Syrian refugees.
This predicament facing the Palestine refugees is on Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional and PN who have never bothered to recognise refugees' rights, and yet somehow never fail in flexing their pro-Palestine credentials with rallies, endless statements, and other strong gestures such as meeting the late Haniyeh in Qatar.
It is also worth mentioning that despite the non-recognition of Israel by Malaysia, there has been a “booming but discreet” trade between both countries spanning a decade, according to news reports that focussed on these bizarre trade activities.
Speaking of the rallies, it is worth mentioning that the unity government held the latest solidarity rally even though it is pressing ahead with the sale of 30% of the shares owned by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad to New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which will be acquired by global investment firm BlackRock - which has stakes in numerous arms and defence companies that supply weapons an aircrafts to the genocidal Israeli army.
Was the rally an attempt by the government to divert public attention from the share sale? I don’t know. But what I am 100% sure about is that it is wrong for the government to allow this share sale to take place with a firm like BlackRock which is complicit in this genocide.
On the other hand, PN should not be spared from backlash for dealing with BlackRock as there are companies owned by the firm that are currently operating in PAS-led Kedah and Kelantan.
BlackRock has been operating in Israel since 2016. How did our government and PN fail to notice this?
What can Malaysia do?
I am not trying to say that the Malaysian government does not have the heart at all to help the Palestinians. After all, the current government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s stewardship is doing its best to prove itself as a good ally to Palestinians.
The unity government has pledged to send medical aid to Palestine, waiving a year of tuition fees for Palestinians studying in Malaysian public universities, continuously pushing a worldwide campaign for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and backing other countries’ bid to haul Israel to the International Criminal Court for war crimes and genocide.
But what I am trying to say is that the Malaysian politico’s commitment to Palestine seems to be half-hearted and insincere since we do not recognise Palestinian refugees but still do business dealings with firms linked with Israel.
If Malaysia does not intend to ratify the UN convention due to fear of refugee influx into the country, Putrajaya could consider developing a specialised act that would allow Palestinian refugees to seek refuge in Malaysia and assist them with healthcare as well as jobs and educational opportunities.
Malaysians would be expected to be fearful of the number of refugees that would enter the country and whether some (not all) of these refugees espouse militant ideologies that would put the nation in harm’s way.
Therefore, Putrajaya can choose to fix a certain number of refugees allowed to enter the country and work with relevant domestic and international authorities to screen refugees.
A refugee act for a particular nation is not something that has never been attempted by any other nation, as the United States (ironically) under former president Gerald Ford enacted the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act 1975, which allowed 130,000 refugees from South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia who were escaping the Vietnam War to enter the country under a special status.
The question is, do our politicians on both sides of the aisle have the political will to show their sincerity in helping the Palestinian cause by embracing the Palestinians escaping the genocide as refugees, not undocumented migrants?
The unity government can choose to axe the MAHB-GIP share sale before it is too late, while PN-led states can choose not to allow BlackRock-owned companies and firms to operate there. They can perhaps lure foreign corporations that are not owned by the investment firm to set up their shops in these states.
But the question is: Does our politico have the willpower to extend its pro-Palestine solidarity into the economic realm as well?
I do not wish to provide a lazy answer for these two questions, but I would have to say it: only Anwar, Muhyiddin, Zahid and Hadi Awang have the answers to these questions.
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