Don’t punish all Palestinians based on actions of a few – minister

Don’t punish all Palestinians based on actions of a few – minister

Hariz Mohd
Published: Oct 4, 2024 6:34 PM


Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin has urged the public not to punish all Palestinians who are seeking refuge here based on the actions of a few.

This comes after several refugees were caught on camera shouting and vandalising properties at a Defence Ministry shelter two days ago.

The incident attracted criticism from netizens who questioned Putrajaya's decision to take in Palestinians affected by the ongoing war with Israel for medical treatment.

Some had also called on the government to deport the refugees back to their war-torn country.

According to Khaled, the incident only involved a handful of Palestinians, whom he said were stressed out.

"Not all (are like that). Only a handful who are enduring high stress (in their life)," he said in a brief text message to Malaysiakini.

"Mindef is looking into their grouses," he added, without elaborating.


Shouting match, vandalism

Yesterday, several short video clips had gone viral on the incident, which allegedly happened at Mindef's Wisma Transit in Kuala Lumpur.

In one of the videos, an Arabic-speaking woman was seen engaging in a shouting match with a soldier after she kicked and knocked down furniture at the scene.

Another video clip shows a broken vase lying on the floor, while another woman and a child were shown shouting chants including "Malaysia No, Malaysia No" in a separate clip.

Kuala Lumpur police, meanwhile, said they did not receive any report regarding the incident.

On Aug 16, two Malaysian A-400M aircraft carrying injured Palestinians arrived at the Subang Air Base, Selangor.

The two aircraft had departed from Al Maza Airbase in Cairo, Egypt, carrying 41 patients and 86 of their relatives.

It was part of Malaysia's initiatives to help Palestinians who were suffering from the ongoing Israeli aggression.