Malaysia sending postcard to UN regarding Palestine

PUTRAJAYA: UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres will soon be hearing from Malaysians and their demands concerning Palestine. He will be receiving a postcard demanding all forms of violence against Palestinians be stopped immediately.

The postcard was signed by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and members of his Cabinet on behalf of the people.

The Prime Minister said Malaysia also demanded that the United Nations (UN) accept Palestine as a member state.

“We will hand the postcard over to Malaysia’s permanent representative to the UN. It is my hope that the voice of the Malaysian people will be heard and given attention by Guterres,” he said in a Facebook post yesterday.Anwar said Malaysians could join in sending a message to the UN secretary-general by purchasing the special postcard sold at all post offices and through the Pos Malaysia Bhd website.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet retreat that is taking place is supposed to serve as an opportunity to ensure the government’s objectives are well aligned and to form greater unity among its members.

The two-day retreat, which is taking place until today, will serve as a platform for Anwar to deliver his mandate to his ministers as well as to the top leadership of the civil service on the government’s way forward and strategies for the year, said the Prime Minister’s Department.

It said that long- and mid-term plans were also expected to be laid out by the Prime Minister during the retreat, which started yesterday at a resort here.

“The programme is meant to ensure objectives are aligned and create joint ownership and unity among Cabinet members on the government’s action plans that are based on the concept of ‘whole of government’ and ‘whole of nation’.“The retreat is also aimed at strengthening synergy and cooperation between the ministers and top management of the civil service, so that there will be focused execution in realising the administration’s economic objectives,” the PM’s Department said in a statement yesterday.

Several forums and discourse sessions involving experts in the public and private sectors, industries and international organisations have been planned.

Among the topics to be discussed are economic challenges and the way forward, welfare and social security, governance and innovation as well as communications.

On Tuesday, Anwar had said the Cabinet retreat was to explore new ways to strengthen the economy, to look ahead at the implementation of various programmes and policies, and discuss taking more specific steps on issues such as energy transition, investments and digital existence.