PARLIAMENT | The Dewan Rakyat today unanimously declared to condemn the tragic mosque shooting incidents in New Zealand.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Mohd Yusof led the lawmakers in a moment of silence for the 50 injured and 50 others who died during the Friday prayer shootings at the Al-Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
"On behalf of the Malaysian Parliament, I offer our deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims, including three Malaysians and another Malaysian, still reported missing," said Ariff (below) who presided over the session.
"The Parliament also stands with the New Zealand government and the New Zealand parliament in rejecting acts of terrorism, hate and violence in all forms.
"We are confident that the New Zealand government will ensure that justice is served for the victims and restore peace and harmony in New Zealand," he said.
Four lawmakers from Pakatan Harapan, BN, PAS and GPS earlier participated in debating the emergency motion tabled by Anwar Ibrahim (Harapan-Port Dickson).
In tabling his motion, Anwar reiterated the incident was linked to a rise in white supremacy ideology in the West, including in the US through President Donald Trump's immigration ban on certain Muslim countries.
He also noted that such extremist beliefs rooted in race supremacy were not limited to the West.
"This extreme racial view can spread to any race not excluding Malays, Chinese, Indians and others. We celebrate differences in opinions but I strongly reject any approach involving acts of terror or violence," he stressed.
New Zealand PM lauded
Reezal Merican (BN-Kepala Batas) in his speech lauded New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's response to the shootings, including to immediately announce plans to tighten the country's gun laws.
He also credited Wisma Putra for its efforts to assist the affected Malaysian families as well as all Malaysians in Christchurch.
At the same time, Reezal also rapped DAP's Mengkibol assemblyperson Chew Chong Sin over the latter’s statement responding to the shootings (later retracted) linking it to the Umno-PAS alliance and dangers posed by a narrative centred on race and religion.
Khairuddin Aman Razali (PAS-Kuala Nerus) in supporting the motion also criticised Chew for drawing "false links" between the shootings and local politics.
"Although the statement has been retracted, we hope that it will not happen again in future," said Khairuddin who urged Parliament to state its stand that such attacks on houses of worship should be declared as a crime against humanity.
Lim Kit Siang (Harapan-Iskandar Puteri) and Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (GPS-Santubong) also participated in the debate.
Deputy Foreign Minister Marzuki Yahya and de facto Deputy Islamic Affairs Minister Fuziah Salleh winded up the one-hour debate.
Marzuki confirmed that Wisma Putra had deployed its officers to offer assistance to all affected Malaysians, including accompanying family members to one of the injured victims currently hospitalised in New Zealand.
He also confirmed that search is still ongoing for a Malaysian teenager reported missing after the massacre.
Fuziah, meanwhile, urged all Malaysians to learn a lesson from the incident and refrain from making racially charged comments in order to prevent possible retaliation from the aggrieved parties. - Mkini
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