Dr Mahathir Hopes Government Will Issue Work Permits To Palestinians In Malaysia

SHAH ALAM, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad Monday said he hoped the Malaysian government would issue work permits to Palestinians who were in Malaysia so they could work and earn a living to support their respective families.
"I hope the government will consider issuing work permits for them because some of them have come here with families but their children cannot go to school," he told reporters after launching the Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia (PCOM) here Monday.
He said the Palestinians' representatives here had met and appealed to him on this as such hoped the government would be sympathetic to their plight.
When asked whether the issue of work permits related to Malaysia's reluctance to ratify the United Nations (UN) Convention on Refugees, he said: "The problem with the UN Convention is that we have to make sure that the refugees are refugees."
"Some times we have other people trying to make use of the special rights given to refugees to seek protection and residence in a country like Malaysia."
To a question as to how the Palestinians could have their own independent state, Dr Mahathir said: "Well we have to get public opinion to apply pressure on governments, we cannot get governments to make decisions but public opinion will help us to achieve our objectives."
He said the Muslims in America were divided and did not work together while the Jews were united and had their own strategy especially in the cause for Israel.
Earlier in his speech, he said the establishment of the Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia (PCOM) was crucial to preserve the Palestinian culture which distinguished them from the rest of the Arab world.
He said despite the cultural differences, the Palestinians were still Muslims and were brothers to other Muslims in the world.
However, he said the Zionist regime in Israel had occupied most parts of Palestine and if they managed to occupy the whole of Palestine, the Palestinian culture would likely vanish.
Therefore it is every Malaysian's duty to help their Palestinian brothers in their cause, he added.
tunku : the government should look into this matter seriously.we MUST help them by giving work permits to the palestinians who are eligible to work in malaysia.we can't help them by gunning down the zionist regime but we can help them by giving jobs to them and help them financially so that they can survive.we MUST help them.