Penang DAP Socialist Youth is miffed by Bayan Baru MP (Independent) Zahrain Mohd Hashim's recent statement that the party has been silent on the issue of Israel.

State Dapsy treasurer Steven Sim said the former PKR leader's comment in the Malaysiakini report Zahrain taunts LGE's total silence on Israel yesterday was not only incorrect but smacked of "incitement".

australian councillors on psm six 240711 steven sim Instead of condemning the DAP and its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Zahrain would be better off "working diligently" for the Bayan Baru community and Penang, Sim ( right ) said.

"He should not waste time defending Umno," added the Seberang Perai municipal councillor, reminding Zahrain that it was the ruling party that paid millions to the public relations company Apco, which has links with Israel.

Zahrain ticked off the Penang chief minister for his silence on Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's controversial comment on Israel in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) last month.

The independent MP claimed that Anwar, the PKR supremo, had clearly "insulted the Palestinians" who have been and still are being oppressed in their own homeland for decades.

Anwar's comment had invited a flurry of criticisms from both BN and Pakatan Rakyat leaders, condemning him for showing support for Israel and indirectly endorsing the oppression of the Palestinians.

However, the Permatang Pauh MP and PKR de factor leader has maintained that his remark in the WSJ article had been taken out of context.

DAP consistently opposes Israel

Sim insisted that DAP had been consistent in its struggle for justice, freedom and solidarity of the oppressed, regardless of ethnicity and religion.

The best example, he added, was when Guan Eng was jailed for defending a Malay family in Malacca.

"The DAP has always been supporting the struggle of the Palestinians and has condemned the violence of the Israeli regime towards the community," Sim said.

"DAP leaders are in the forefront of Malaysia's condemnation of all the violence and cruelty towards the Palestinians," he added.

In this respect, Sim reminded Zahrain that in April 2002, then DAP international secretary Teresa Kok strongly condemned Israel's defensive shield operation in the West Bank.

Zahrain is desperate

In May 2010, the party's adviser Lim Kit Siang was one of the first leaders to urge all parties to come together to register their anger on Israel's attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla.

zahrain hashim parliament 150310 In October last year, Bakri MP Er Tech Hwa was ejected from the August house for urging Umno to answer accusations of existing trade relations between Malaysia and Israel when both countries do not have diplomatic links.

Sim described Zahrain's ( right ) statement as the uttering of a "desperate politician" who was willing to slander others for his own political survival.

"It is clear here that his tactics are similar to Umno's, which often makes baseless allegations against the DAP to threaten the Malay Muslim community," Sim said.

"They want the people to believe that it is only Umno that is capable of defending the Palestinian Muslims."

Sim demanded that Zahrain, who left PKR following a tiff with the Penang chief minister soon after the 2008 general election, makes a public apology for his baseless accusations.