KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 — Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin urged the public not to punish all Palestinians seeking refuge in Malaysia based on the actions of a few individuals.
This statement follows an incident where several refugees were filmed shouting and vandalising property at a Defence Ministry shelter two days ago.
“Not all (are like that). Only a handful who are enduring high stress (in their life),” Khaled told Malaysiakini in a text message.
He confirmed that the Defence Ministry (Mindef) “is looking into their grouses,” but did not elaborate further.
Video clips of the incident, which occurred at Mindef’s Wisma Transit in Kuala Lumpur, went viral yesterday.
One video showed an Arabic-speaking woman engaging in a shouting match with a soldier after knocking over furniture.
Another clip depicted a broken vase on the floor, while a different video featured another woman and a child chanting “Malaysia No, Malaysia No.”
The incident drew criticism from online users who questioned Putrajaya’s decision to accept Palestinians affected by the ongoing conflict with Israel for medical treatment.
Some individuals even called for the government to deport the refugees back to their war-torn country.
Kuala Lumpur police stated they had not received any reports regarding the incident.
On August 16, two Malaysian A-400M aircraft transported injured Palestinians to Subang Air Base in Selangor, carrying 41 patients and 86 relatives from Al Maza Airbase in Cairo, Egypt.
This initiative is part of Malaysia’s efforts to assist Palestinians affected by the ongoing Israeli aggression.
