PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has expressed Malaysia’s willingness to cooperate with Indonesia in deploying peacekeeping forces to Palestine should a mandate be granted by the United Nations.
In a Facebook post, Anwar said the topic was a key point of discussion during a telephone call he had with Indonesia’s president-elect and defence minister Prabowo Subianto today, adding that the collaboration could potentially be extended across the region.
“In the three-minute phone conversation, we exchanged views on current issues, including Prabowo’s role in representing Indonesia on the international stage lately and his efforts in promoting regional and global vision, collaboration and peace,” he said.
“I also welcomed the idea of cooperation in the Malaysia-Indonesia international peacekeeping mission and the possibility of expanding this collaboration at the Asean level.”
On June 1, Prabowo said Indonesia was willing to send “significant peacekeeping forces” to enforce a ceasefire in Gaza if required. He also said Indonesia was willing to evacuate and treat wounded Palestinians in Indonesian hospitals.
Last October, Anwar said sending troops overseas is not a “simple decision” for the government to make.
He said should the need arise, Malaysia will make a collective decision with its allies and neighbours to do “whatever is necessary” to help Palestinians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The war started with Hamas’s Oct 7 attack which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,877 people, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. - FMT
