Malaysia Cautious On Gaza Peace Committee Proposal - PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will take a cautious stance before endorsing a proposed Peace Committee for Gaza until Israeli attacks stop and humanitarian aid access is guaranteed, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.

While Malaysia supports efforts to secure peace, Anwar said concerns remain over the committee’s composition and mandate.

This, he said, includes the possible involvement of the Israeli prime minister and former British prime minister Tony Blair, which was viewed as directly linked to the Iraq war and as lacking neutrality on the Palestinian and Gaza issues.

“In principle, we support initiatives to ensure peace. But we have reservations about the formation of the committee and those involved. Many of the announcements have yet to be confirmed,” Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat during Minister’s Question Time today.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (MUDA-Muar) regarding Malaysia’s position on a proposal by United States President Donald Trump to establish a Peace Committee for Gaza.

Anwar said the proposal cannot be considered a reasonable solution while Israeli attacks on Gaza continue.

“Agreements may have been signed, but attacks by the Zionist Israeli regime persist. The first step must be to stop the violence, and the second is to ensure access to food and basic necessities,” he said, noting that reconstruction initiatives, including housing proposals by Turkiye, have been blocked by Israel.

As such, he said Malaysia remains careful before offering support, adding that the matter will be discussed at the Cabinet meeting this Friday. The foreign minister has been tasked with obtaining the full list of proposed committee members.

Anwar also said Malaysia is consulting leaders from Arab states, Turkiye and others to gather their views on the proposal.

-- BERNAMA