Speech by Opposition Leader and DAP Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, at a luncheon given by Opposition Members of Parliament and State Assemblymen at Parliament House for the two P.L.O. representatives in Malaysia on Wednesday, 17th December 1975 at 1 p.m.
People of Malaysia fully supports the Palestian people’s right in Palestine to independent rationhood and to return to their homes
We have with us as guests of the luncheon, Encik Abu Yacob, who has been P.L.O. representative in Malaysia since the establishment of the P.L.O. office here in 1969, and who will be leaving us soon to set up a new P.L.O. office in Jakarta, and his successor Encik Raid.
This luncheon can also be regarded as a gesture of support and solidarity of the people of Malaysia for the Palestinian struggle for independent nationhood in Palestine and return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced and uprooted with the formation of Israel.
The dedication and sacrifices of the Palestinians to their just cause has been rewarded by the U.N. General Assembly resolution in November 1974 which declared ”the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted” and called for their return; and the Security Council resolution recently inviting the P.L.O. to participate in two debates affecting the future of the Middle East.
As Encik Abu Yacob will be giving us a talk on the P.L.O. struggle, I shall not anticipate hi, expect to state that the Israelis should realise that their future lies with the Middle East, and not as a continued bastion of imperialism to protect imperialist economic and strategic interests in the Middle East, especially oil. The Israelis should admit and redress the injustices perpetrated against the Palestians in the establishment of the Israeli state, and work for the creation of a Palestine where the Arabs and Jews can live as equals.
I hold the view that the Malaysian Government and people should constantly support the Palestinian cause and struggle, not merely by word of mouth, but through more constructive forms of actions.
It is for this reason that last week I had suggested in Parliament that on All-Party Aid Palestine Committee should be formed to help rally and mobilise greater support within the country for the Palestinian cause and to assist in identifying the areas where the Malaysian government and people can be of tangible assistance to our Palestinian brother e.g. in financial contributions, in the provision of educational facilities, especially of university places, to the young Palestinians.
The Palestine Revolutions is a cause which all men dedicated to freedom, justice and peace should adhere, and it is my hope that on this universal issue, all political opinions and forces could come together and work as one, rising above partisan considerations and interests, to express the undivided support and solidarity of the people of Malaysia.