KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is now prioritising the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza via the land route following the reopening of the Rafah border crossing, which is seen as a more efficient and secure option.
Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the crossing’s reopening has provided the government with a better alternative to ensure critical supplies reach Palestinians directly.
In this regard, he said the decision by any individual or local activist to take part in humanitarian missions such as the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) in the future is entirely a personal choice.
“Their participation in such programmes is a personal decision based on their principles to fight for the cause of Palestine and Gaza. The government will provide assistance should any problems arise. Since the border crossing has been reopened, it is good for us to send aid so that its impact can be felt,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said this in response to a supplementary question from Datuk Ahmad Saad @ Yahaya (PN-Pokok Sena) on post-GSF mission planning and efforts to strengthen support for Palestine among member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Lukanisman said that despite prioritising the land route, Malaysia continues to recognise the importance of such voyage missions as a means of exerting pressure, attracting international media attention and demanding accountability from the Israeli regime.
He said that various forms of Malaysian aid, including food, medicine and solar lamps, had been successfully channelled to the people of Gaza as a result of the effectiveness of the current approach.
In the meantime, he said Wisma Putra continues to strengthen strategic cooperation and collective diplomatic pressure at the multilateral level through the OIC, the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU).
Lukanisman said that the effort includes Malaysia’s active involvement in driving cross-sector support through the Brussels 2026 Declaration, which brought together the voices of members of parliament, political figures and civil society from Europe as well as Malaysia.
“Efforts are being made to build collective diplomatic pressure to ensure that the Palestinian issue continues to receive due attention and action at the international level,” he said.
Responding to Ahmad’s original question, Lukanisman said the government strongly condemned the Zionist regime’s violent actions in detaining participants of the GSF 2.0 mission, while expressing appreciation to the Turkish government for assisting in the rescue and safe return of all 29 Malaysian volunteers. – BERNAMA
