RIYADH: During his working visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the inaugural ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, on Friday (Oct 20), raised the Palestinian issues with as many ASEAN leaders and GCC leaders as he could.
"We cannot set aside our responsibility as Malaysian Muslims (regarding this issue),” said the Prime Minister.
Anwar, also the Finance Minister, said he does not want to be a “champion” in the issue that has been going on for more than seven decades. He is just not willing to see another Palestinian killed due to the tyranny of the Zionist regime.
As a human being and a Muslim, he said, he does not want the children and women in Gaza to continue to be oppressed and suffer due to Israel's criminal acts.
He wants other countries to accept his call to end Israeli brutality.
During the summit, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed, all leaders were given three minutes to deliver their respective country’s statements. Anwar urged the international community to end the disproportionate treatment and flagrant hypocrisy against the Palestinians.
"The international community must no longer turn a blind eye to the atrocities and must address the root causes of the Palestine-Israel conflict. Without exception, human rights must be protected, and international law must be upheld.
"The Palestinians must be returned their land, homes and properties. They must be allowed to live in peace and dignity in their own sovereign state in internationally recognised borders, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," he stressed.
Anwar said in this highly challenging time with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that could widen into a regional and world conflict, Malaysia hoped that all nations would come together to find a long-lasting and just solution to this conflict.
Bringing the Palestinian’s plight to the Muslim World League
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict was among the matters discussed by Malaysia with the Muslim World League at the summit.
During a visit to the league's office, Anwar discussed the issue with the Muslim World League secretary general, Dr Muhammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa.
In a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Prime Minister, Crown Prince Mohammed, at the Al-Yamamah Palace on Saturday (Oct 21), he agreed with Anwar's view that it was an important issue in need of a solution, in addition to facilitating the distribution of humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine.
At the end of his visit, the Prime Minister told the Malaysian media that Malaysia is aware and expects repercussions from Western countries for championing the Palestinian cause but will continue to highlight the plight of the Palestinian people on the international stage.
"Yes..(I know there are) many risks. I don’t have any choice,” he explained.
Bilateral relations and economic cooperation with Saudi Arabia
Anwar's two-day visit to Saudi Arabia also saw Malaysia and Saudi Arabia reach an agreement to strengthen bilateral relations and bring economic cooperation to a new level by increasing joint ventures across various fields, including high technology, aviation and green energy.
Following this, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia agreed to form a ministerial-level committee which will monitor the development of trade, investment and economy between the two countries as well as the prospect of cooperation in the future.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and Malaysian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Datuk Wan Zaidi Wan Abdullah accompanied the Prime Minister throughout the visit.
Saudi Arabia is Malaysia’s largest trading partner among the West Asian countries, with US$10.26bil (RM48.91bil) in total bilateral trade recorded between the two countries in 2022, an increase of 159.2% from 2021.
Among the projects the Kingdom has in Malaysia is the Pengerang Integrated Complex in Johor through Saudi Aramco.
The oil and gas company is committed to expanding its facilities at the Pengerang Integrated Complex by adding petrochemical and gas downstream activities to become Southeast Asia's largest hub.
The matter was discussed in a meeting between Anwar, Saudi Arabia’s Trade Minister, Dr Majid Abdullah Alkassabi, and the president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco, Amin H Nasser.
The Finance Minister also received a courtesy visit from the governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, to discuss the prospect of cooperation in the field of investment.
PIF has agreed to cooperate with Permodalan Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund.- Bernama
