Malaysia highlights Palestine's plight at IPU assembly

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is participating in the 147th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Angola, where it submitted a proposed resolution highlighting the Palestinian plight and the ongoing Palestine-Israel genocide.

Senator Datuk Seri Zurainah Musa is leading the Malaysian delegation to the assembly in Angola’s capital Luanda from Oct 23 to 27.

Member of Parliament (MP) for Bayan Baru, Sim Tze Tzin, MP or Jerlun, Dr Abd Ghani Ahmad and Acting High Commissioner to Namibia, Datuk Dr Mohamad Rameez Yahaya were also part of the Malaysian delegation.

Malaysia’s draft proposal titled ‘Multifaceted Approach to the Question of Palestine: Parliamentary diplomacy and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16” among others called for ceasefire and an end to the violence in the ongoing conflict, according to a statement from the Secretary to the Delegation Parliament of Malaysia, Nurul Fadhilah Ibharim.

In total four draft resolutions were submitted to the assembly, with two others also on the conflict in Gaza - stopping of the war and violations of human rights in Gaza by Algeria, Kuwait (representing Arab Group) along with Iran, Indonesia and South Africa, and Canada’s draft resolution on towards common ground on peace and Israel’s right to self defence. The fourth is a draft resolution on Islamophobia by Pakistan.

However, Malaysia and Pakistan, decided to withdraw their resolutions as to give way to the resolution proposed by the Arab Group.

A proposed resolution will need to get at least two third majority votes of the members before it can be considered to be inserted as emergency item. A roll call voting was initiated at the Assembly where the proposed resolutions by the Arab Group as well as Canada’s resolution failed to receive the required votes, hence both draft resolutions were not adopted as an emergency item.

The overall picture depicted by the voting is that countries were divided between the west and the east nations, the statement said.

More than 5,795 Palestinians were killed and 18,000 others wounded from the ongoing Israeli occupation forces aggression in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since October 7 - BERNAMA