Zahid apologises for 'Hidup Israel' chant error at Palestine rally

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has apologised to supporters of the Palestinian struggle over a slip of the tongue at a rally when he accidentally chanted support for Israel.

The Umno president said on Facebook that the gaffe occurred as he was delivering a fiery speech at the “Himpunan Pembebasan Palestin” (Free Palestine Rally) held in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

“In the heat of the moment and in high spirits, I made a mistake in my speech and I hereby apologise for that.

“But with a sincere heart and burning spirit, I continued to chant ‘Free Palestine!’, ‘Long live Palestine!’, and ‘Allahu Akbar’,” he said.

Last night, Zahid in a speech before a crowd of about 10,000 wanted to say Malaysia will continue to support Palestine.

However, instead of saying Palestine, he mistakenly said Israel.

This was met with shouts from the crowd as they tried to correct the deputy prime minister’s error, with one telling Zahid he had a “typo”.

The BN chairperson also mistakenly said “hidup Israel” (long live Israel) when he was leading a series of chants later, before correcting it by saying “hancur Israel” (destroy Israel) and “hidup Palestin”.

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