KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — Amanah deputy president Datuk Salahuddin Ayub today questioned a supposed promise by Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s to aid Afghanistan, saying that the latter’s pledge seemed premature.
According to a report by Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Salahuddin asked if the promise by Abdul Hadi — who is PAS president and Malaysia’s special envoy to the Middle East — was approved by the Cabinet.
“Firstly, Malaysia has not officially recognised the Taliban government of Afghanistan,” Salahuddin was reported as saying.
“Secondly, did the Cabinet authorise him to make such a statement on behalf of the government?
“Such a commitment must be endorsed by the Cabinet as many protocols are involved here.”
On Friday, several news reports quoted Taliban spokesperson Mohammed Suhail Shaheen as saying that Hadi had promised that “Malaysia will do what it can to assist the Afghan people in this critical time”, after Abdul Hadi met with several Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar.
“It seems that Abdul Hadi hurriedly exceeded his powers before the Cabinet decision to act as such,” Salahuddin said.
Salahuddin also questioned why the PAS president was instead not giving enough attention to the plight of Yemen, which is being attacked by Saudi Arabia and its Western allies.
“The war in Yemen is a war between a great power and a weak and small country, where millions of children and adults face malnutrition and starvation as well many deaths,” he was quoted as saying.
He then questioned if Hadi’s promise to Afghanistan was actually a political statement, meant to garner support for him in lieu of the next general elections.
