KOTA KINABALU: Cabinet has never discussed bringing Palestinian refugees into the country, says Datuk Ewon Benedick.
The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister said only ways of providing humanitarian aid to victims of the Palestine-Israel conflict were discussed.
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“There have been many views and comments on this, and I wish to state that the Cabinet has never spoken about wanting to bring Palestinian refugees to Malaysia,” he said in a statement on Monday (Nov 20).
“There was also no mention of support for Hamas," the Upko president added.
He said the Cabinet had agreed to collect funds to help Palestinian victims of the conflict, regardless of whether they were Muslims or Christians.
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On his party’s stance on the issue, he said the government should learn from the past where Filipinos were allowed to seek refuge in Sabah during the (conflict in the southern Philippines).
Benedick said this resulted in a complex problem for the state and its population, which has yet to be resolved until today.
He also said that while helping people outside the country, there should also be more focus on government aid to hardcore poor Sabahans.
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“Sabah is among the poorest states with the most hardcore poor people in the country, so any form of assistance should go to Sabah first,” he said.
Benedick, who is the Penampang MP and the Kadamaian assemblyman, said there should be aggressive efforts to help Sabahans and lift them out of poverty.
