NEW DELHI: Malaysia and like-minded countries such as India must play a role in efforts to end the Israel-Hamas conflict and ensure the provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, Malaysian foreign minister Zambry Abdul Kadir has said.
Kadir, who was in New Delhi to co-chair the bilateral Joint Commission meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on Tuesday, also said Malaysia, like other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), wants to ensure the Indo-Pacific remains a “zone of peace, prosperity and neutrality” without any contestation between major powers.
He highlighted the role India can play in efforts to put in place a ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 10,000 people have been killed and another 26,000 injured in Israeli strikes following the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas.
Describing India as a country with “an impressive foreign policy” that is well respected, Kadir said: “Countries like India and Malaysia, it is our responsibility to play our part to call for the cessation of hostilities. And we’ll be doing our bit to call for the [provision of] immediate humanitarian aid.”
He added, “Our belief and India’s position is also [that] we want to see the war must be ended immediately and...a humanitarian corridor must be opened for the delivery of food to the people of Gaza. Because what is happening now is rather alarming and very unfortunate.”
{{/usCountry}}He added, “Our belief and India’s position is also [that] we want to see the war must be ended immediately and...a humanitarian corridor must be opened for the delivery of food to the people of Gaza. Because what is happening now is rather alarming and very unfortunate.”
{{/usCountry}}Kadir said the situation in Gaza and the Israel-Hamas conflict figured in his discussions with Jaishankar on Tuesday. “We also discussed this because it is the greater concern of everyone – it’s not only Malaysia but also India and the rest of the world, nobody wants to see people fall into a crisis or war, killing each other,” he said.
India has condemned the terror attacks by Hamas, saying the world community must stand together against all forms of terrorism. It has also expressed concern about civilian casualties and the humanitarian situation and reiterated its call for direct negotiations for establishing a two-state solution.
Kadir said the conflict resulted in some of the worst civilian casualties in any war, with more than 4,000 children, over 50 journalists and UN workers and staff among the dead. “This is not about proportionate killing or disproportionate killing, this is a humanitarian issue. Any country, any individual, and for that matter, any leaders with a moral conscience would not tolerate this kind of atrocities [being] perpetrated against especially civilians, innocent people and non-combatants,” he said.
Kadir said Malaysia, in line with the Asean strategy for the Indo-Pacific, wants to maintain the region as a zone of peace, prosperity and neutrality. “We do not want to allow this area to be a flashpoint, for the superpowers to fight among themselves because it [would be] rather unfortunate [as] this is one of the busiest regions for maritime activities and one of the busiest sea routes,” he said.
Malaysia is focused on maintaining the region as an area that can be used by everybody for trade. While the US, China and Europe have their strategic outlook for Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, Asean stresses maintaining the region as an area of peace, he said.
Kadir referred to the trilateral security partnership AUKUS, which includes Australia, the UK and the US, and the Quad, which includes India, Australia, Japan and the US, and said: “We hope that this will not be turned into another form of tension in the Indo-Pacific.”