KUALA LUMPUR: The Palestine cause is not a religious struggle but a fight to stop the killings of innocent human beings, leaders of various political parties said at a mega rally in the city Friday (Oct 11).
A memorandum addressed to US President Joe Biden, his vice-president Kamala Harris and the US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was also placed in the mailbox of the US embassy in Malaysia, after embassy security said that no one would be accepting the memorandum.
The rally was led by Parti Amanah Malaysia president Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, who is also Agriculture and Food Security Minister, after Friday prayers at the Masjid As-Syakirin at Tabung Haji.
The rally is the first in a series of gatherings planned over the next few days to remember that it has been one year since Israel upped its assault against the Palestinians in Gaza on Oct 7, 2024.
A band of drummers accompanied the crowd as they marched from the mosque towards the US Embassy on the other side of the road.
Police kept watch and aided the traffic along the way but the crowd was stopped by a barricade of policemen about 100m from the US embassy gates.
Earlier, Mohamad applauded US citizens and Europeans who are openly supporting Palestine although their governments support Israel.
“The ones who are standing up against the atrocity in Palestine now are the non-Muslims in the West as they could not stand to watch the innocent Palestinians being slaughtered.
PAS Youth Information chief Nadzir Helmi said that PAS decided to stand together with all other parties at the rally as they must be united in support of Palestine.
“We must set aside our differences to do this,” said Nadzir.
Activists Hishamuddin Rais and Tian Chua also spoke to the crowd.
“This is not a religious struggle but an anti-colonial struggle. No matter what party you are, we must support the Palestinian cause. Tomorrow (Oct 12) at 2pm, we will gather again here,” said Hishamuddin.
"As long as there are people being oppressed, we must stand up for them," Tian Chua added.
Representatives from undergraduate associations and various NGOs also spoke at the rally.
Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (Mapim) president Mohd Azmi, meanwhile, called US ambassador to Malaysia Edgard D Kagan “arrogant" for not receiving the memorandum.
The crowd dispersed peacefully after an hour.
