The Youth wings of Umno, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, DAP and PAS have signed a five-point joint memorandum on Malaysia's stand against recent Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Palestine.

They condemned Israel's attacks on Lebanon and detention of Hamas leaders in Palestine and urged that the ceasefire be maintained in Lebanon.

The wings also demanded that peacekeeping troops be deployed as soon as possible, and urged the United Nations to create a special tribunal to put Israeli leaders on trial for "crimes against humanity" in both countries.

At the ceremony in Kuala Lumpur last night, about 600 flag-waving members chanted party slogans and shouted support for their leaders who took to the podium for the Malaysian Youth Coalition Gathering'.

Another 100 watched the proceedings on screens outside the Tun Syed Nasir hall in Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP). The event was organised by Johan Jaffar, who is DBP chairperson.

Hishamuddin Hussein (Umno), Liow Tiong Lay (MCA), Mah Siew Keong (Gerakan), S Ramesh (MIC), Salahuddin Ayub (PAS), Nga Kor Ming (DAP) and Shamsul Iskandar Mohd (Parti Keadilan Rakyat, PKR) represented the wings.

The event began with shouts of Reformasi and Hidup Umno as the largest contingents were from Umno, PAS and PKR.

Eight speeches were delivered, interspersed with poetry recital and performances, during the event organised by DBP chairperson Johan Jaffar.

The gathering was described as a follow-up to a previous collaborative gathering attended by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad (then Umno president) and Fadzil Mohd Noor (PAS president) at the same hall to discuss Palestinian and humanitarian issues in 2002.

Fiery speeches

Liow, whose speech encompassed the views of the Youth wing leaders, said the conflict was not a religious issue, but a humanitarian one.

Salahuddin described Israelis as bangsa bangsat (a race of thugs), saying that pressure should be kept up until "Jews are expelled form Arab lands". Also alleging that Israelis have consistently breached the Geneva conventions, he offered PAS members as "frontliners of martyrdom".

He challenged PAS members to buy a one-way ticket to Beirut to assist the reconstruction process and to fight Israeli oppression. However, this was met with derisive shouts of Jangan balik PAS, Umno ada return tiket (Don't come back PAS, Umno has return tickets).

Shamsul came in for his share when he blamed Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the two-week delay in reaction by the Organisation of Islamic Conference, which Malaysia currently chairs.

Hishamuddin labelled Israeli aggression as tindakan hina biadab (uncivilised conduct) and urged the wings to increase their condemnation so that it builds into ombak tsunami (tsunami) that influences world opinion.

He blasted the US for cakap tak serupa bikin (not walking the talk) and bikin tak suka cakap (preferring action to dialogue). The other leaders also condemned US backing of Israel and the UN Security Council's failure to resolve the conflicts.

There were cheers for performers including a group of children aged from four to 14 years. One declared that "they can bomb us and destroy our homes, but they can't change our spirit" and "for everyone one that falls, another 100 will rise up".

At a press conference later, Hishamuddin said he was confident of more such collaboration, without providing details. He said he would leave for Beirut with other Youth leaders as soon as possible, but did not indicate a date.

Salahuddin told reporters to ignore the noisy disruptions from the back rows, saying "it's just young men (venting their feelings).... angry young men".