A senior Malaysian academician has slammed Arab nations over the escalating violence between Israel and Palestine since May 10 that has to date, resulted in the deaths of 181 Palestinians, including 52 children.
Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin said calls by the US, UK and their allies for the de-escalation of tensions are nothing more than theatrics.
“What is even worse is Arab nations, some of which have diplomatic ties with Israel like the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, can only indulge in meaningless and useless rhetoric,” said Ghouse, an honorary fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and International Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang.
“At the same time, these nations and several others will not take any action unilaterally against Israel as they seem subservient to the US through financial and military aids.”
Ghouse went on to describe the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation as being “clueless and impotent”.
“And the United Nations has also proven to be ineffective in conflict resolution, especially in the case of Israel and Palestine.
“There is a dire need for a sincere and concerted effort by Muslim nations to not only stand in solidarity with their Palestinian brothers and sisters, but to use their wealth, political and diplomatic influence to end this carnage, once and for all,” he added.
Here’s the news round-up of The News Normal today.
SARAWAK TO USE AZ VACCINE ON FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS
Sarawak has agreed to allow the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine to be used in the state on a voluntary first-come, first-served basis via appointment.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said the AZ vaccine will be supplied to Sarawak with the coordination of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force.
Douglas said the Sarawak Covid-19 Vaccine Advisory Group had been reviewing the current global, national and local development of the Covid-19 vaccines, including the AZ vaccine, and after a review, the government has decided to allow the use of the vaccine to complement the state’s Covid-19 vaccination roll-out plan.
The Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force for Sarawak initially opted not to accept the AZ vaccine after 8,000 people cancelled their online vaccination registration following the Federal Government’s earlier announcement that AZ would be a part of the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination roll-out.
“Based on the lessons learnt through the rejection rate of vaccination registration, Sarawak had opted not to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine for its Covid-19 vaccination roll-out plan.
“The Sarawak government did not want the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme in Sarawak to be jeopardised by the fear and hesitancy due to the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” he said.
Separately, the Health Ministry revealed 4,865 new Covid-19 cases today with Selangor recording the highest number of cases, with 1,743. This brings the total number of cases to 479,421.
FIVE ABU SAYYAF MEMBERS SHOT DEAD IN BEAUFORT
Police shot dead five members of the Abu Sayyaf group at a mangrove swamp near Taman Sri Arjuna, in Beaufort, Kota Kinabalu, yesterday morning.
Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali said police believe they had crippled another Abu Sayyaf cell hiding in Sabah following the death of the quintet.
Mabar Binda, a sub-leader of the terrorist group wanted by the Philippine government, was among those killed in the shootout.
Others were identified as Abhirsham Samsula @Samseed, Jurukhadam Binda, and Alsimar Sukarno. The identity of the fifth member has not been ascertained.
AREN’T POLITICIANS GUILTY OF FAKE NEWS AND FAKE ETHICS?
Are politicians exempted from truth and ethics? Responsible citizens must decide if they want ethical politicians, or mere rhetoric, especially religious rhetoric, writes Datuk Seri Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos.
