KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia will donate another RM100 million (S$30.6 million) to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Aug 24.
In a special address at Kuala Lumpur’s Independence Square, he said that the Malaysian government first announced a RM100 million aid for Palestine in 2023.
“Tonight, I announce here that Malaysia will donate another RM100 million,” he said.
“I’m requesting Malaysians to please remember that this country is peaceful and independent. Learn from this and preserve peace and freedom for all.”
In a strongly-worded remark, Datuk Seri Anwar criticised the Israeli government over
the man-made famine in Gaza
, where dozens are dying from starvation and aid seekers are killed on a daily basis.
“All kinds of help were given, but these Zionists decided to let the aid go rotten,” he said. “What kind of human is this? This is an animal! People are dying and starving, but food and medicine remain at the borders.
“I am 78 years old, and I have never seen such cruelty. (Benjamin) Netanyahu and his goons, they are insane and evil.”
Mr Anwar said Malaysians will never abandon the Palestinians in their struggle against the Zionist regime.
“We salute your spirit of struggle. We will never leave you alone. Malaysians and many other friends are with you,” he added.
Mr Anwar said he has fought for the Gaza cause since he was a youth, when he was invited by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to Algiers, Algeria for a Palestinian Liberation Organisation conference in 1983.
“Now, in 2025, it is still the same,” lamented Mr Anwar.
He added that Malaysia, as a country that was formerly colonised by the English before 1957, is firmly opposed to any form of colonisation.
“What is happening in Gaza now is a form of colonisation,” he said.
Quoting the late Palestinian-American academic Edward Said, Mr Anwar said the scholar had also described the situation in Palestine as a form of “politics of dispossession”.
“It means that everything you possess is taken away from you. Your land, water, house, family, children, and babies, everything taken,” he said.
After Mr Anwar’s speech, a prayer session for Gaza was held.
Mr Anwar left Independence Square at about 10.20pm.
Also present were Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Zaliha Mustafa and Chief Secretary to the Government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
Tens of thousands of Malaysians have gathered at the solidarity rally since evening in support of Gaza.
Most of them who were holding placards that read #GazaBangkit were seen in white as a symbol of Malaysian solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.
Mr Anwar also launched and flagged off the Sumud Nusantara Convoy, involving eight countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The convoy would move in two groups, departing on Aug 31 and Sept 4.
The two groups would depart for Spain and the other for Tunisia before joining the Global Flotilla en route to Gaza.
The convoy will be the largest flotilla movement, involving dozens of ships and more than 50 countries. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
