KUALA LUMPUR: The backlash from some parties against the Unity Government's move to bring injured Palestinians and their family members from Gaza to receive medical treatment in Malaysia must have caught Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim by surprise.
The Prime Minister has expressed his disappointment and sadness over the criticism, saying the detractors had gone to extremes with some asking him to go and become the Prime Minister of Palestine.
Some insisted that charity should begin at home, pointing out that there was a long line of Malaysians seeking medical treatment in hospitals.
Others are also upset that Palestinians are given places in local public universities when many must fight to enter.
There is even a fake video showing the Palestinians who arrived here last Friday were given a grand welcome with a convoy of police escorts.
The purported resentment is just over 41 injured Palestinians and 86 of their family members including children.
The criticism seems incredulous as over 34,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 77,000 injured since the Israeli attacks on Oct 7 following the attack by Hamas fighters.
Nearly 85 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been displaced and over 14,000 children have been killed in the war of vengeance while over 7,000 people are still missing.
It won't be wrong to say it's genocide as most of these people did nothing to deserve the bombing and killing to wipe them off.
About 72 per cent of those killed are women and children. The United Nations (UN) Human Rights chief Volker Turk said a child in Gaza is killed or wounded "every 10 minutes.'' Surely, they are not Hamas fighters.
Anwar has been criticized by some as "going overboard'' and "hypocritical'' for flying these Palestinians for 16 hours on two Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) aircraft.
Malaysia isn't the only country providing medical aid to Palestinians. Other countries are doing the same including Egypt, Jordan and Turkiye.
Egypt has reportedly allowed 40,000 family members to attend Egyptian schools, while over 1,000 injured Palestinians are in the United Arab Emirates, 3,000 orphans and 1,000 injured in Qatar, while Saudi Arabia is hosting 1,000 family members.
Turkiye has sent a medical ship not only to treat the Palestinians, but also brought over 1,000 of them back to the republic for medical treatment.
Indonesia has also reportedly expressed its readiness to help these Palestinians.
Egypt's healthcare system is strained, according to the UN Human Rights Watch, with over 40 hospitals across the country treating Palestinians.
These are the lucky ones who made it to Egypt as Gaza's healthcare system has collapsed. Of the 36 hospitals, 32 have been damaged or raided, with serious shortages of power, water, medicine, equipment and staff.
It will be pointless for Anwar and many of us Malaysians to merely attend protest rallies, mass prayers and boycott Kentucky Fried Chicken and Starbucks, which only hurt the Malaysian franchisees when we should be taking a more practical approach.
Attending to the 41 injured is a tiny percentage of the total number of Palestinians who need help.
Human Rights Watch associate director Belkis Wille said "evacuating patients and providing proper medical care for them is a concrete and feasible humanitarian action that would help the lives of Palestinians.
"One of the most meaningful ways to mitigate avoidable deaths would be to offer medical care to Palestinians who need it, ensuring their family members can accompany and stay with them and that none are forcibly returned to face the risk of further harm," she said.
It doesn't matter if we are the first or second Asian country to help them. What Malaysia is spending on these Palestinians is a small fraction of what we can do.
Malaysia has a history of humanitarian assistance, especially to the Palestinians, as they have a situation that others have not faced – to be driven out of their homes and subjected to daily harassment in occupied territories.
I know what I am talking about because I have travelled to Gaza and the West Bank and see their frustrations with my own eyes, the kind of humiliations that Palestinians face daily.
We have allowed Syrians and Bosnians to come to Malaysia, and most of them moved on to another country.
Nearer to home, we have allowed 250,000 Vietnamese "boat people'' refugees to land in Malaysia, most of whom chose to relocate to other countries.
We have also been involved in peace-keeping missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lebanon and Somalia, assistance in conflict zones in East Timor and Mindanao, Philippines, disaster relief and responses in Aceh, Indonesia, and Nepal earthquake, and regional peace initiatives in southern Thailand and Mindanao, Philippines.
Are we really neglecting our own people while spending money to bring in these Palestinians?
Malaysia allocated RM41.2 billion for healthcare expenditure in 2024, an increase of almost 13 per cent from 2023 or about 5.0 per cent of the national gross domestic product (GDP), which places it third in ASEAN.
The cost of living is still an issue, but median monthly wages are up 4.9 per cent. Of course, we can do better, but it doesn't mean we can't afford to help the Palestinians.
Our ringgit has been the best-performing currency in Asia while the stock market has seen over RM2 trillion in market activity.
Managing race relations is a delicate matter, especially in balancing the relationship between races.
There will always be community and minority issues from time to time, but we should not let race-based and religious-based narratives argue our cases.
It is understandable if some Malaysians feared that we would be flooded with more foreigners including Palestinians and others.
These concerns are justified as Malaysia is a small country.
Many also do not want Malaysia to be dragged into a conflict, but we should not be apologetic over our support for the Palestinians.
The Palestinians are just human beings and deserve to be helped. Maybe Malaysia is just a small country, but we are a nation of people with big hearts. – BERNAMA
The writer, Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, who has been a journalist for over 40 years, is currently the chairman of BERNAMA, the Malaysian National News Agency.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times