VOCAL human rights activist and lawyer Siti Kasm has hit back at critics who denounced her view that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is better off being the Palestinian PM on grounds that charity starts at home.
“Why doesn’t he start with the refugees that we have right here in Malaysia first? Why doesn’t he start with the many Malaysians who have to wait for months for medical treatment?” she lambasted on her X account.
“Why doesn’t he bring all of the injured from other countries at war now? Only Palestine?”
On Thursday (April 15), Siti Kasim ticked off Anwar – suggesting that he “should be Palestine PM” – by being over-zealous in bringing injured Palestinians to seek treatment in Malaysia when many “Arab countries who are neighbours and closer don’t (want to) take them”.
“Does he care how many Malaysians have to wait for their treatment at our local hospitals? Who’s paying for the treatment of the Palestinians? OTT (over the top). I will never vote for these lot ever again.”
For the record, a total of 127 Palestinian citizens, including 41 injured as a result of Israeli attacks at the Gaza Strip, had arrived safely in Malaysia.
They were flown in two Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) A400M aircraft from Cairo, Egypt and arrived at the Subang Air Force base between 2pm and 2.30pm yesterday (Aug 16).
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the mission to bring the Palestinians to Malaysia was made on a humanitarian basis and to show solidarity towards Palestinians and the nation’s stand to combat inhumane acts of genocide.
Elaborating her stance further, Siti Kasim highlighted that many Orang Asli in remote Sabah have been deprived of proper medical care themselves for years.
“If you feel proud that our government is lending support on humanitarian grounds (to the Palestinians), the Orang Asli who reside in rural areas in Sabah encounter enormous difficulties to get to hospitals due to lack of proper road system or transportation to ferry them to hospitals till today,” berated the Orang Asli advocate in a Facebook (FB) video post.
“There was a case of an Orang Asli woman who was pregnant with twins who needed emergency treatment in rural Sabah but there was no helicopter to transport her to hospital, thus leading to maternal death.
“This is what I meant by we should care for our own people first … you’re (Anwar) oblivious to the sufferings of our people on the ground for there are many Malaysians, too, who can’t get access to medical facilities.
“This is why I’m very upset…the priority of the government is totally wrong … the government should practise being humanitarian first to people on its own backyard.”
Going a step further, Siti Kasim also wondered if the focus on Palestine has to do with gaining political mileage at the expense of taxpayers’ money.
“There are so many other wars in this world but why only Palestine, Palestine and Palestine? Is this because he wants to be popular or wanting to win Malay votes by being seen as a champion of Islam?
“This is why I’m really, really pissed off because many intellectuals have also jumped on the bandwagon preaching about humanitarian aid when they don’t know anything about what the word means.”
Below are some darndest comments left behind by netizens in reaction to Siti Kasim’s FB video.
- Focus Malaysia
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