I would welcome Israeli swimmers to S’wak
COMMENT | So, Malaysia has imposed a blanket ban on all Israelis from participating in the upcoming World Para Swimming Championships.
The championships will be held in Sarawak, my dear homeland, from July 29 to Aug 4. Hence, my interest in the subject. It is rare for Sarawak to host an international sports event.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has stressed that Israelis should not come to Malaysia as the country does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
He said Malaysia had the right to keep its border closed to certain people, especially from countries the nation feels are doing a lot of wrong things.
Not surprisingly, Israel retaliated strongly, with its Foreign Ministry lambasting Malaysia and its openly anti-Semitic leader Mahathir over the country’s declaration that it will host no events with Israelis, including a Paralympic swimming tournament later this year.
“The Malaysian government has taken the decision to ban the participation of Israelis in official international sport events in Malaysia, including the participation of athletes with disabilities in a swimming competition organised by the International Paralympic Committee,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “This is shameful and totally opposes the Olympic spirit.”
“We call upon the International Paralympic Committee to change this wrong decision or change the venue of the event,” it added.
I think changing the venue of the event is a good idea. If I were the chief minister of Sarawak, I would return the host job to the federal government.
Minding our own business
There is no reason for Sarawak to be embroiled in a controversy over sports. Mixing politics with sports is something our peaceful hornbill state is not accustomed to, nor do we wish to be sullied by an international outcry.
I believe the majority of Sarawakians, myself included, have nothing against Israel or their athletes. Neither are we interested in the long-running Middle East conflict and the never-ending Israel-Palestine confrontation. In short, we don’t care...
COMMENT | So, Malaysia has imposed a blanket ban on all Israelis from participating in the upcoming World Para Swimming Championships.
The championships will be held in Sarawak, my dear homeland, from July 29 to Aug 4. Hence, my interest in the subject. It is rare for Sarawak to host an international sports event.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has stressed that Israelis should not come to Malaysia as the country does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
He said Malaysia had the right to keep its border closed to certain people, especially from countries the nation feels are doing a lot of wrong things.
Not surprisingly, Israel retaliated strongly, with its Foreign Ministry lambasting Malaysia and its openly anti-Semitic leader Mahathir over the country’s declaration that it will host no events with Israelis, including a Paralympic swimming tournament later this year.
“The Malaysian government has taken the decision to ban the participation of Israelis in official international sport events in Malaysia, including the participation of athletes with disabilities in a swimming competition organised by the International Paralympic Committee,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “This is shameful and totally opposes the Olympic spirit.”
“We call upon the International Paralympic Committee to change this wrong decision or change the venue of the event,” it added.
I think changing the venue of the event is a good idea. If I were the chief minister of Sarawak, I would return the host job to the federal government.
Minding our own business
There is no reason for Sarawak to be embroiled in a controversy over sports. Mixing politics with sports is something our peaceful hornbill state is not accustomed to, nor do we wish to be sullied by an international outcry.
I believe the majority of Sarawakians, myself included, have nothing against Israel or their athletes. Neither are we interested in the long-running Middle East conflict and the never-ending Israel-Palestine confrontation. In short, we don’t care.
Seriously, why should we bother about other people’s business if they do not desire peace but continue to fight one another? In Sarawak, we do not take sides. We give the Israelis and the Palestinians their right to choose their destiny, their freedom to fight and kill each other even, if that is what they desire to do.
Let us not pretend that we, outsiders who are so far away, are able to make a difference to the tensions in the Middle East. Even the most powerful man on the planet couldn’t.
How many times and how many American presidents have hosted the Camp David peace talks for the Israelis and Palestine Liberation Organisation? What happened after that? Those efforts came to naught.
Why? Even after the so-called peacemakers were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the wars are still waging on today. Pray tell, what can Malaysia do?
So because Malaysia is on the side of Palestine, Israeli swimmers are not allowed to participate in the championships in Sarawak. What do the PLO and their struggle have anything to do with a swimming event, or with Sarawak for that matter?
Another axe to grind
Perhaps this is another axe for Sarawakians to grind with Putrajaya. You want us to host the championships, you better let Sarawak decide who to ban and who not to ban from entering our homeland. Don’t forget, Sarawak has autonomy over immigration.
I’m sure Sarawak would gladly welcome swimmers from all over the world, including Israelis. I certainly would.
Of course, Putrajaya can easily tell Sarawak off since this is a national call as it involves diplomatic relations.
Surely, the day will dawn for Sarawak and Sarawakians when they will be able to make their own national calls and decisions, including those regarding diplomatic relations.
If you want to make things difficult for us in Sarawak, including over a flimsy issue as a sports event, then do so. Just don’t tell us later that you have not been warned. That is our message to Putrajaya.
In Mahathir’s own words, Malaysia had the right to keep its border closed to certain people from countries who are doing a lot of wrong things.
The key subject here is ‘wrong things’.
In this case, Syria and Iraq could well be Wisma Putra’s next targets to cut off diplomatic ties with. Why? These countries are breeding grounds for terrorists who misused religion to start a jihad (holy war), annihilating everyone who stood in their way. “Wrong things’ they must surely be, eh Mahathir.
As for our young sports minister’s statement that “Malaysia should not be complicit to a brutal and inhumane regime as our Palestinian brothers and sisters have been murdered in cold blood and those who live, imprisoned for life in open air prisons, tightly controlled by the Israeli regime”, I have this to add.
Perhaps, the minister should go and take up arms and fight alongside his Palestinian brothers and sisters.
If he is not prepared to do that, then I would suggest to him not to mix sports with politics too.
As a Sarawakian, let me declare again that I would welcome the Israeli swimmers to Sarawak in the name of sports and the spirit of the Olympics.
What politicians decide for sports is their business. Just let me state that I stand totally in disagreement with them on this issue.
FRANCIS PAUL SIAH heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) and can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
