Thesun 2009-01-06 Page04 Rm3

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news without borders

theSun

| TUESDAY JANUARY 6 2009

RM3.6m in humanitarian aid to Palestinians PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (pix) has authorised the immediate disbursement of US$1 million (RM3.6 million) in humanitarian aid from the government to Palestinians. He said the money had been channeled through and would be used by Mercy Malaysia, a non-profit medical relief organisation, to deliver relief supplies. The Foreign Ministry had reopened its Fund for Palestine to receive and coordinate the collection of aid from the people of Malaysia, he said in a statement here yesterday. Malaysia, he said, would continue to extend humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza within its means. The prime minister said he was also writing to various world leaders asking them to use their good office and personal influence to convince Israeli leaders to stop the bombard-

ment of Gaza and agree to a ceasefire. Abdullah said Malaysia continued to hold the view that durable peace and stability for Gaza could only be secured through peaceful negotiations. He said the UN Security Council had a moral duty to stop the atrocities committed by Israel and demand a ceasefire by all sides. “A failure by the Security Council to do that would escalate the crisis, endanger Palentinian unity and threaten the peace and security of the wider Middle East. Any ground offensive into Gaza by Israel is an act of total war which the international community should not tolerate. “I note that the Security Council continues to fail to act on this critical matter. I therefore urge that an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly be convened to adopt a ‘Uniting for Peace’ resolu-

tion,” he said. Earlier in his adress at the Prime Minister’s Department’s monthly assembly, Abdullah said Malaysia’s permanent representative to the UN had been instructed to initiate discussions with contact groups of the NonAligned Movement (NAM) and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to get the UN to convene the special general assembly. Israel, citing self-defence after Hamas fired missles into southern Israel, launched air strikes into the Gaza Strip a week ago and killed up to 500 Palestinians, many of them civilians. “The United States should have used its influence to effect a ceasefire but it had not bothered to do so and had instead allowed Israel to commit the atrocities against the Palestinians,” said Abdullah. “Worse still, the US has blocked a UN (Security Council) resolution (calling for an end to the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip). This move is something which the world community cannot have respect for,” he added. – Bernama

Dr M calls for boycott of greenback, US products by Maria J. Dass [email protected]

PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed says countries who oppose the invasion of Gaza should boycott the greenback as a protest against US support for Israel. He said this at a news conference called to condemn Israel’s brutality against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here (pix). He lauded Malaysia’s move to initiate the convening of the UN General Assembly to find a solution to the matter as the assembly can override the decision of the Security Council. Blaming the US and Britain for backing the invasion, he said: “The

dollar is only being used because people accept the greenback as legal tender and if they stop, then the US cannot trade, cannot make money, they will become poor and this will stop them from producing more and more weapons.” “People who keep all their money in the US are actually responsible for the manufacturing of weapons which are used to kill people. That’s what their money is being used for,” said Mahathir, adding that America was a bankrupt country with no money or no reserves, so anyone can go against it if they wanted to. He also said while it may be difficult for governments to move, individuals can do their part by boycotting US products. “Governments cannot force people to drink Coca

Cola, and you won’t die because you did not drink any Coca Cola,” he cited as an example. Asked if this would affect Malaysia since the US is its largest trading partner, Mahathir said: “There will be a price to pay to do something good, but if you slowly whittle down involvement with the US, then slowly we will get used to it. “This is not a religious war. There are many places where the Jews have been living with Muslims for years. There is no animosity towards the local Jews in these places, so this war is not religious but territorial. “The US, who is the ‘policeman of the world’, has given its full backing to the invasion. No candidate in America can afford to say they don’t support the Jews.”

PR wants emergency sitting on Gaza KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat (PR) wants Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to convene an emergency sitting of the Dewan Rakyat to discuss Israel’s unlawful invasion of Gaza. In an unsigned letter to the prime minister, Opposition leader Datuk Seri

Anwar Ibrahim, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the nation needed to make an official stand on the matter. “On behalf of the people of Malaysia, we call on YAB Datuk Seri to convene

an emergency sitting of Parliament. “It is important for Malaysians to take an official stand to join the international community in voicing opposition to the Israeli atrocities and give moral support to the people of Palestine,” the letter says. – Bernama