KUALA LUMPUR – PAS organ Harakahdaily came in for a lashing by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today, who said the party mouthpiece was rude and slanderous in questioning his stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Reiterating the many occasions when Malaysia had strongly opposed Israel and supported Palestine, Anwar said Harakahdaily had been rude (biadap) and was propagating slander (fitnah) with its article yesterday that used a graphic placing him in front of the Israel flag.
The article’s headline questioned if Malaysia under Anwar was being careful about supporting Palestine.
“Listen carefully, not like Harakahdaily, which has linked me to Israel, this is slander. Rude and slanderous!” Anwar said in the Dewan Rakyat today during the Prime Minister’s Question Time.
A check on Harakahdaily’s portal showed that Anwar’s photo had been removed from the graphic following his statements in Parliament.
He was answering Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (Machang-PN) who asked about Malaysia’s stand on the US’ Hamas International Financing Prevention Act that was passed by the House of Representatives recently.
Recounting the times Malaysia has spoken against Israel, Anwar said the country submitted a written statement to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July this year on the violation of the rights of Palestinians.
Anwar said even though Malaysia could not join in referring Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as it was not a signatory of the Rome Statute, it had worked to refer Israel to the ICJ.
“We made a statement (to ICJ). So, understand this. Don’t use (the Israel-Palestine issue) for politics,” Anwar added.
Later, Datuk Ahmad Saad (Pokok Sena-PN) interjected, asking Anwar to retract his words about Harakahdaily being rude and slanderous.
Ahmad thanked Anwar for clearly stating Malaysia’s pro-Palestine stance, also noting that Harakahdaily had merely phrased its article headline as a question.
“It was not an accusation. And we got the answer today, that we (both government and opposition) agree on the Palestine issue.
“So I ask Tambun to withdraw his words, calling Harakahdaily ‘biadap’ and ‘fitnah’,” Ahmad said.
In response, Anwar said Harakahdaily should correct its article.
“I feel just as angry as you (Ahmad) over the Palestine issue and since there was no clarity, I think Harakahdaily can make a correction. If that is your explanation, I accept and move on.” – November 7, 2023