Pro-Palestinian activists held a demonstration outside the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec) in Kuala Lumpur today with fake bloodstained bodies wrapped in funeral shrouds.
Describing themselves as the Palestinian Solidarity Secretariat (SSP) and “Gegar Amerika”, the seven activists opposed the participation of defence companies who are furnishing Israel with military equipment at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security (Natsec) Asia.
The activists also displayed a banner which read “Stop the US-funded genocide” at the days-long protest.
SSP spokesperson Nur Hafizah Shamsudin condemned Putrajaya as a “hypocrite” for permitting firms Lockheed Martin and BAE System to participate in the exhibition.
“This government is replete with rhetoric expressing support for the Palestinians but no clear action is taken.
“It is obvious that the government prioritises profit although thousands of Palestinian lives have been lost because of the arms supplied by these firms,” she told Malaysiakini.
On Monday, Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said Malaysia adopts a non-interference approach in the business affairs of any global company from any country.
This came after Bersatu international bureau chief Saifuddin Abdullah expressed concern over Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems’ inclusion in Natsec Asia 2024, saying the government should prohibit the involvement of two companies supplying weapons to the Israeli military.
‘Palestinians’ fate not unlike Tamils in Sri Lanka’
A representative for Malaysian Tamils For Palestine (MTFP), Mythreyar Mutturamanilnggam, had travelled from Tanjung Malim, Perak, to take part in the protest.
He likened the suffering of Palestinians to the situation of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
“When my people (Tamils) fought in Sri Lanka, they endured a similar fate but our voices were not heard and we were declared as terrorists.
“Israel was one of the countries which funded Sri Lanka (in its war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE),” he added.
The LTTE is classified as a terrorist organisation in Malaysia.
In 2019, the police arrested several individuals, including two assemblypersons, over their alleged links to the now-defunct separatist movement. - Mkini
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