Human rights activist and lawyer Siti Kasim has reiterated her opposition to the Madani government’s decision to accept Palestinian prisoners, arguing that these individuals are not victims of political persecution but rather former Hamas fighters convicted of war crimes in Tel Aviv.
Her criticism follows reports that around 60 Palestinian prisoners are being deported to Turkey, Qatar, Malaysia, and Pakistan, with each country expected to receive 15 individuals. This was reported by India’s National Herald, citing Palestinian Prisoners Club head Abdullah Zaghari.
Siti Kasim’s stance was made clear in a post on X (formerly Twitter), where she sarcastically remarked, “Bagus laaa … bring all of the criminals here” However, her comment triggered a strong reaction from Datuk Dr Rais Hussin, a former Bersatu co-founder and current PKR member, who called her a “heartless moron.”
“You are such a heartless moron! These Palestinians who are in the Israeli prison were fighting for their rights without any charge, prosecution or court appearance … they were kidnapped, held hostage … you are really, really sick!” Rais wrote in response.
Not one to back down, Siti Kasim fired back at the head of think tank EMIR Research, doubling down on her position.
“I’m proud to be heartless towards these prisoners because we don’t need terrorists in our country … Is it right for them to kill others just because they’re Jews? Is this where you (Rais) or the Madani government are coming from?” she stated in a YouTube video.
She criticized the government for what she perceived as prioritizing religious identity over national security. “Little wonder our country is so screwed because you’re only looking at the Muslim lenses … I’m aghast at the mindset and mentality of our country for bringing in people who’re terrorists and killers.”
Warning Malaysians to be concerned about this development, she added, “I just can’t fathom as to why the Madani government is willing to accept these worst among the worst prisoners … start to worry, Malaysians … why is our government bringing rubbish into our country?”
Earlier, she sought to differentiate between different groups of released Palestinian detainees, pointing out that the 60 individuals soon to be deported were suspected militants. This contrasts with another 111 Palestinians who were released on January 8 and had been held without trial since the October 7, 2023, conflict.
“The remaining 72 Palestinians – all arrested from either the West Bank or Gaza before the war – served long sentences or life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis. They’re all men, ranging in age from 30 to 66,” she explained.
She also provided examples of some of the prisoners, countering Rais Hussin’s claim that they were merely fighting for their rights. Among them were three individuals accused of orchestrating a 2002 suicide bombing at a pool hall near Tel Aviv that killed 15 people. That same year, they were linked to another bombing at Hebrew University, which killed nine people, including five American students. According to Israeli authorities, one of them, Odeh, was a key figure behind the attack.
Information Source: Focus Malaysia
Kamran is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
