KUALA LUMPUR: About 200 protesters gathered at the entrance of the US Embassy here on Friday to condemn the country’s recent move of recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Led by Pakatan Harapan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the "Jerusalem is not Zionist Israel's right" rally was joined by several opposition leaders.
Among those present were Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Parti Amanah Negara president Mohamad Sabu and DAP lawmaker Liew Chin Tong.
Top leaders of DAP, such as its advisor Lim Kit Siang and secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, however, were not seen at the protest.
In his speech at the rally, Dr Mahathir denounced US President Donald Trump as an “international bully” and condemned his decision to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
"The whole world is being bullied. This is the state of mind of a weak person. Such action will cause anger among the Palestinians and Arabs.
"This will lead to more violence. Because of anger, (the Palestinians and Arabs) would… die for Palestine," he said.
As he spoke further, Dr Mahathir's speech turned into an attack on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, thus straying from the purpose of the rally, which was to protest against Trump's decision.
He criticised Najib’s September visit to the US at the invitation of Trump to mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral ties between Malaysia and the United States.
“Najib should've told Trump to stop bullying other people and (not to) go looking for those who are (too) weak to defend themselves," he said.
It was reported that Trump said his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital should not be construed as the US taking a position on whether, or how, the city might ultimately be shared between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Nevertheless, Trump made no reference to the Palestinian people’s long-held hopes of having East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Friday said that Najib and Pas President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang will be leading a rally to show disagreement over Trump's action.
The protest demonstration is scheduled to take place at Masjid Putra in Putrajaya on Dec 22 at 2.30pm.
When asked if he would attend the Putrajaya rally, Dr Mahathir said: "We have to see if it's only for Umno, or if it is a sincere rally for the people of Palestine."
At a media conference on Friday, Zahid made no mention of either Umno or the government organising next Friday's rally, but stressed the importance of all Malaysians and NGOs to come together to condemn Trump's decision.