The rule of law, human rights and international law govern plight of the people in Biblical Holy Land, leaving RM100m grant for the Gaza Strip, as three Attorney General (AG) in Malaysia can confirm for Anwar!
Commentary and Analysis . . . There are too many videos and links on the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, taking position on the plight of the people in the Biblical Holy Land and taking pot shots at “the West”.
The issue has come under renewed intense international scrutiny in the wake of the Hamas attack on Saturday 7 October 2023 on music festival in the desert in southern Israel.
The jury may no longer be out on whether Anwar was playing to the gallery for domestic political reasons and ignoring the reality that the rule of law, human rights and international law governs the plight of the people in the Biblical Holy Land. Malaysia has RM100m grant for the people of the Gaza Strip.
Malaysia, patently, merits the UN’s seal of approval if the Prime Minister reaches out to the people of the Gaza Strip although it’s run by Hamas which has been listed by UN as terrorist organisation. Anwar should consult the three Attorney General in Malaysia for legal advice on Hamas, Jew and zionism.
There’s no place for xenophobia, envy, jealousy, prejudice and hate in Malaysia’s foreign policy. Malaysia, being multicultural nation, cannot degenerate and be party to illegalities like pitting one nation against another.
There’s case for setting up permanent dialogue mechanism in searching for the Last Word which will bring closure on issues in conflict between parties in dispute. War, as seen in Ukraine, resolves nothing but merely prolongs human suffering for the unbridled greed of a few leaders. There can be negotiation only at the table.
Malaysia Foreign Policy
Malaysia, while condemning disproportionate Israeli response in the Gaza Strip, must at the same time condemn the October 7 attack and hostage-taking in no uncertain terms.
Israel, under international law, has the right of self-defence. Malaysia exercised this right, for example, when Sulu militants intruded into Lahad Datu in 2013. Hence, Anwar isn’t allegedly playing footsie with Hamas on 7 October lest it risks remains being contradiction in terms.
Gaza Loose Talk
It’s inconceivable that there’s loose talk by nameless others in government and outside, including in the Opposition, on defying the West on October 7.
Anwar, at the same time, concedes that sending Malaysian troops to help the Gaza Strip fight Israel may be easier said than done. It’s the UN which can send troops but only for peace keeping in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and perhaps in Israel. UN peace keeping troops, including from Malaysia, are already in Lebanon. The largest number of UN peace keeping troops worldwide, in digressing a little, are from India which makes no statements on Hamas.
Malaysia can cut the Gordian Knot on October 7 by urging the UN that the Gaza Strip and West Bank be placed under international administration as done in Cambodia and Timor Leste not so long ago.
At the same time, Malaysia should place Sabah and Sarawak under UN Administration since it has been non-compliant on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA’63) even after 60 years. MA’63 was recently included in the Federal Constitution. There could be no pressure on the Federal government, on the issue, by Sabah and Sarawak which are run by proxy government.
Biblical Holy Land
There’s case for the Anwar Ibrahim unity government visiting the history of the Biblical Holy Land lest it risks putting foot in the mouth and having mud on the face. Malaysia stays in glass house and throws stones. It was not so long ago that dictatorial former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad attacked India on Kashmir after its statehood was suspended temporarily as cross border terrorism has continued unabated since 1947.
UN administration of the two territories will probably stop terrorists attacks like that on October 7.
At the same time, in indulging in the luxury of wishful thinking and living on hope, the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly can revisit 1948 when the state of Israel and the rump state of Palestine were separated.
The rump state of Palestine, for those just joining us, never happened.
In war that immediately broke out between Israel and Arabic speaking nations, the rump state of Palestine lost some territory as the Tel Aviv government annexed them. Israel seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem, placed in 1948 under Jordanian administration, after war in 1967 and imposed military administration. Israel also seized the Golan Heights from Syria as buffer security zone and occupied southern Lebanon. Israel has since withdrawn from southern Lebanon on the grounds that it no longer needs the territory as security buffer zone.
Likewise, Israel has returned the Sinai Peninsula which it took from Egypt in 1967.
The Gaza Strip came under Israeli military administration after 1948. Jordan itself was separated by Britain, before 1948, from the Trans Jordan Palestine Mandate. It’s said that 60 per cent of the people in Jordan are Palestinian. We don’t know the basis for this claim since the Palestinian in Jordan, like others in the Kingdom, speak Arabic. There’s no Palestinian language.
In fact, before 1948, Hebrew speaking Jew were also known as Palestinian and held Palestinian passport issued by the Trans Jordan Palestine Mandate under British Administration.
Palestinian was first codified by the Roman Empire, as administrative term for the people in the Biblical Holy Land, based on old Greek usage for the people in the territory. At that time, there were no Arabic speakers in Palestine as the language did not exist, and when it emerged based on loanwords from other languages, history tells us that it had no written form initially until the Quran was translated from sacred scriptures in Aramaic — the language of Syria — into Arabic.
Post-1948 history
The post-1948 Palestinian and Arab nations, generally, were against separation which saw Israel emerge as Jewish state with no written/codified Constitution i.e. not found in one place or document. In jurisprudence, the Constitution is colour-blind and secular. The court of law cannot get into theology.
In law, Article 8 in Malaysia for example, there can be no discrimination save as provided by law — read Article 153 in Malaysia — but there must be sunset clause in that case. If there’s no sunset clause, or the sunset clause was subsequently discarded — again read Article 153 after 13 May 1969 — the Constitution ceases existence by the extent it goes against itself.
Again, Israel has no written/codified Constitution but an unwritten/uncodified document as in Britain and New Zealand, in citing two examples readily in the mind.
The favourite questions in law schools in England, in digressing a little, are whether Britain should have written/codified Constitution, whether the King can dismiss the Cabinet and assume executive authority, and whether the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland should be declared as Republic. Britain, in fact has Bill of Rights enacted by Parliament in 1689. It serves as part of the unwritten/uncodified British Constitution.
Judaism explained
Judaism isn’t religion, not language, not race or ethnicity. Language isn’t proof of race or ethnicity.
Jew speak multiple languages including Hebrew which may be the original language used by those who followed Judaism as way of life. There’s no work in nothingness on the other side.
Anyone can become Jew, just as anyone can become Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain.
What separates Jew and non-Jew may be culture based on risk-taking, making mistakes and learning from them on education, thrift, business, and finance, among others. There’s also the little matter of Jew considering themselves “God’s chosen people” and the Biblical Holy Land as Gift from God for Jew.
Intelligence, associated with Jew in particular, remains the ability to learn from mistakes.
If there are no mistakes, there’s no learning taking place. Again, mistakes can only happen if risks are taken. No risks, no mistakes, and no learning.
No learning, no intelligence.
Energy, intelligence and luck make up human beings.
All human beings have the same DNA.
DNA is the warehouse for genes, the instruction manual for making the human being.
There’s genetic barrier, millions of years, between human beings and other species.
Species tells us that there’s no race based on DNA.
DNA cannot tell how one would look like.
Muslim, for example, can compete with Jew if there’s Tafsir (interpretation) of the Quran for emergence of more evolved culture which includes risk-taking but not terrorism activities. Islam in the Quran calls for Tafsir throughout the ages, from time to time, for progressive thought in keeping with the times. Otherwise, Islam risks degenerating into Political Islam which may be form of rotten politics. — NMH
Longtime Borneo watcher Joe Fernandez has been writing for many years on both sides of the Southeast Asia Sea. He should not be mistaken for a namesake formerly with the Daily Express in Kota Kinabalu. JF keeps a Blog under FernzTheGreat on the nature of human relationships.
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