SHAH ALAM, 19 July: The Member of Parliament for Bayan Baru, Sim Tze Tzin, urged for the motion regarding the conflict in Gaza to be debated once during the emergency Parliamentary session on the MH17 tragedy.
He said that Gaza is also a human tragedy which needs international attention.
He said that Malaysia needs to show firmness on issues of justice, peace and human rights, especially as a country that is the candidate for the non-permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
“Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has, for a long time, wanted to bring up this motion, however it was not entertained by the government. So far, the conflict in Gaza has claimed hundreds of lives, including women, children and the elderly,” he said in a statement.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, decided to call a special Parliamentary session to discuss the motion to condemn the inhuman act against the MH17 aircraft on July 17.
In a special message aired on RTM 1, he said that the emergency session is to state the firm stand of Malaysians against the unfortunate tragedy.
He said that Malaysia strongly condemns the act which is ruthless, barbaric, violent and irresponsible.
The MH17 aircraft carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew members was reported to have been shot down in Eastern Ukraine while on route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, the conflict in Gaza has so far killed hundreds of civilians and dozens of children, with thousands others injured, mostly due to bombings by the Israeli military.
Since yesterday, the Israeli military, shortly after the MH17 tragedy, began a ground attack on Gaza.
Despite being criticised by the international community, the strong ally of Israel, the United States, gave them their blessing.
In a statement, the United States Secretary, John Kerry, on a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressed his support for Israel’s right to defend themselves from ‘terrorist’ attacks.
NS
