Muhyiddin Yassin today asked Anwar Ibrahim to come forward and explain his commitment to defend the security of Israel, which the opposition leader had stated in an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) yesterday.

The deputy prime minister asked whether the stand by the PKR de facto leader meant that he placed more importance on Israel than the Palestinians who were being oppressed by the Israelis.

"Is this the stand of the opposition Pakatan coalition, when the government does not even have diplomatic relations with Israel," he told reporters after making a visit to Kampung Kebun Baru in Jementah, Muar today.

Muhyiddin said this when asked to comment on the remarks made by Anwar in the WSJ interview, where he (Anwar) openly stated that he would defend the security of Israel.

"The Barisan Nasional regrets this statement by Anwar," he said.

The Malaysian government, he said, was also very disappointed that the peace talks between Israel and Palestine had yet to bear fruit although they had been going on for a long time.

Anwar says he backs two-state solution

In a press statement late this evening, Anwar said that he supports Malaysia's two-state solution as stated by the country's foreign minister in United Nations last year:

"...Malaysia fully supports the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people for an independent State of Palestine, based on the two-state solution, taking into account the security concerns of both parties (Israel and Palestine)." 

On another matter, Muhyiddin urged eligible applicants who had not received the RM500 aid under the Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) initiative to be patient.

"The government hopes to resolve this as quickly as possible," he said, adding that those whose applications were rejected could make appeals.