FINALLY, SOME COMMON SENSE: DAP PROPOSES ‘PEACE MAKING-MISSION’ TO BREAK N.KOREA HOSTAGE DEADLOCK

DAP lawmakers have called for the establishment of a parliamentary “peace-making mission” to help secure the release of Malaysian citizens in North Korea.

“We want a peace-making mission consisting of parliamentarians from the government and opposition, to help in solving this problem,” Batu Gajah MP V Sivakumar told a press conference today.

Asked if they were willing to travel to North Korea, Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik replied that the MPs would go to a “neutral country” instead.

Meanwhile, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang called on Parliament to adopt an all-party emergency motion tomorrow to condemn North Korea’s “hostage terrorism” and urge Pyongyang to revoke the ban on Malaysians leaving the republic.

“Malaysians fully support the firmest actions taken by Putrajaya to ensure the safety and security of Malaysians in North Korea and to protest against the regime’s utter contempt of civilised international relations – including any rupture of diplomatic relations with the North Korean government,” he said in a media statement.

Pyongyang today imposed a temporary ban on Malaysians leaving North Korea, prompting Putrajaya to put in place a similar travel restriction as diplomatic tension escalated over the Feb 13 murder of Kim Jong-nam.

There are 11 Malaysians in North Korea, including embassy officials and their families.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who condemned North Korea’s move to hold the Malaysians hostage, has summoned an emergency national security council meeting.

Police said that Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un died after being applied with VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur International Aiport 2 (KLIA 2). Two women, an Indonesian and a Vietnamese national, have been charged in connection with his murder.

North Korea has accused the police of fabricating evidence and colluding with hostile forces, remarks which led to the expulsion of its ambassador to Malaysia.
Meanwhile, another DAP lawmaker, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, expressed appreciation for the government’s efforts to secure the release of the Malaysian citizens in North Korea, and urged it to exhaust all options to ensure their safe return.

Earlier, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had said that North Korea’s actions were uncivilised.

“We definitely condemn North Korea and we should move a resolution to UN because this is against the Vienna Convention by preventing Malaysians from leaving.

“We should sever ties. Definitely not a country worth having diplomatic ties with,” he added.

– M’kini