Sarawak CM, let the Israeli swimmers in
LETTER | The Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) wishes to appeal to the chief minister of Sarawak, Abang Johari Openg, to allow the Israeli swimmers to participate in the upcoming World Para-Swimming Championships in Kuching.
Sarawak will host the event from July 29 to August 4.
This is an international sports event and swimmers from around the world who qualified should not be barred. All should be allowed to enter Sarawak and represent their respective nations accordingly.
This is clearly a sports event and it should be seen and considered as that – purely a sports event and nothing else! We should not bring in race, religion and politics into sports.
If Putrajaya continues to insist that Israeli athletes be barred, despite the waves of protests both at home and abroad, then Sarawak could exercise its immigration autonomy and allow the Israelis in.
It has already been suggested that the athletes from Israel could enter Sarawak from other points of entry other than Kuala Lumpur.
But MoCS hopes that we do not have to go down that road.
If Putrajaya wants Sarawak to host the event, then let us decide what to do and make our own decisions, including those on diplomatic relations with other nations.
Lest we forget, Sarawak is a separate entity and not merely one of the 13 states. And remember too, Sarawak has autonomy over immigration.
Sarawakians have nothing against the Jews or Palestinians and we do not wish to involve the Middle-East conflict in this sports event.
Because Malaysia is on the side of Palestine and has no diplomatic ties with Israel, Israeli swimmers are not allowed to participate in the championships in Sarawak. What do the Palestinians and their struggle have anything to do with a swimming event, or with Sarawak for that matter?
The people of Sarawak and its leaders have proclaimed to the world that race and religion have never been an issue in our Land of the Hornbills.
Now is the time for our chief minister and all Sarawakians to put that proud declaration to the test.
We welcome the Israeli swimmers to our homeland. Putrajaya has no moral right to decide that for Sarawak.
The writer heads the Movement of Change Sarawak (MoCS).
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
When Tel Aviv abandoned the word Palestine in favour of Israel, the Arabs in the Biblical holy lands claimed to be Palestinians.The reality is that various Churches own all the land in Jerusalem.Even the Israeli gov’t has to lease land from the Churches.Jerusalem has been majority Jewish ever since it was founded 3, 000 years ago by King David.Except for those Muslims who are Israeli citizens, other Muslim immigrants can only stay in the Biblical holy lands as stateless people.The Biblical lands is not the homeland of the Arabs. Except for the Arabs, all foreign occupiers of the Biblical lands have left.In the last 2, 000 years, Jerusalem came under various foreign rulers.The last was the British.Jerusalem has never been partitioned in the last 3, 000 years. Don’t expect the people to agree to partition the city and hand over the eastern part to unelected leaders in West Bank and Gaza.Israel is a democracy.You can take matters to the Supreme Court.Many Muslims have petitioned the Supreme Court and won against the Israeli gov’t. This includes land issues.On paper, a gov’t can do whatever it wants unless restrained by the court or the people taking to the streets.In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Hamas and Fatah leaders have never been elected in the last quarter century.They have no legitimacy.They can’t claim to represent the people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.That’s why the Gov’t of Israel ignores them.The people of the West Bank and Gaza must elect leaders who can represent them in talks with Israel.The unelected leaders are corrupt, only interested in filling their pockets with aid money and the taxes collected by Israel in the two disputed territories i.e. West Bank and Gaza.First things first.Mahathir should put his money where his mouth is and advise the people in the West Bank and Gaza to elect their leaders.No need to send an aid-carrying ship of instant noodles to Israel. The Tel Aviv gov’t is more than capable of looking after the people.
Such a disapointing stand, trying to use pro sarawakian sentiments to support injustices. One day maybe you can suffer like the palestinans at the hands of an illegal occupier before you can empathize.
No abuse of power please. Even from the Putra Jaya