'Malaysia must keep fighting for Palestine'

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia must continue to

champion the Palestinian issue so that its importance and
the rights of Palestinians are accepted internationally.

Kuala Lumpur should continue the work done as chair
of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to help
find a resolution to the Middle East crisis, Peace Malaysia
co-ordinator Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said.

"I think such pressure needs to continue because without it,
who else will help the Palestinians? Malaysia should take
the lead," he said at the sidelines of a forum yesterday.

The forum, Palestine: 60 years of struggle -
Al Nakbah Remembered, was jointly organised by the
International Movement for a Just World and Peace Malaysia.

Mukhriz said as a Muslim country separated by distance
from West Asia, Malaysians may view the crisis differently.

"We perhaps look at it from a distant
perspective without the historical baggage."

He added that Malaysia has always been at the forefront of the
Palestinian cause, even during Tunku Abdul Rahman's premiership.