AS Malaysians swamped the various social media platforms to express their disgust at the so-called Palestinian ‘medical tourists’ and their kins for sparking chaos at their temporary accommodation in Wisma Transit Kuala Lumpur (WTKL), human rights activist and lawyer Siti Kasim must have felt vindicated.
The Orang Asli advocate who championed the call “charity should always start from one’s own home” has somehow been proven right when she re-posted videos of the ruckus as such unaccepted behaviour is certainly not the way to repay their host’s hospitality.
But this time, Siti Kasim was not alone as many enraged Malaysians resonate with her:
“Little wonder Egypt doesn’t want to accept them.”
“This is the reason why we Sarawakians do not accept immigrants like them. The more of them, the more they want to be in power. There is already a historical account of them in Lebanon. That’s why other Arab countries don’t accept immigrants like them.🤔”
“Rohingya 2.0”
‘What shitty treatment? Air-conditioned room, comfy bed, food and drink with taxpayers’ money?”
Truth be told, the Royal Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) had in a statement recounted that the incident occurred around 6.15pm on Wednesday (Oct 2) when some Palestinians housed at WTKL made a commotion and went on a rampage because they were not satisfied that one of them was not allowed to reside outside WTKL.
Recall that 127 Palestinians landed at the RMAF Subang Air Base on Aug 16 on two RMAF Airbus A400M airlifters on Aug 16 from the Al Maza Air Base in Egypt to seek treatment for wounds sustained during Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza.
The group, consisted of 41 injured men, women and children along with 86 of their relatives.
In all fairness, this comment by financial literacy advocate and current affairs observer Ooi Beng Cheang nevertheless speaks volume of the hardship victims of war-torn nations traying to cope and adapt to their surroundings:
A few years ago, Malaysia govt brought in a group of refugees from Syria and I was shooting a documentary with them. The Yayasan that sponsored them (guess which Yayasan?) put them in a few apartments in a new area. After the first few days, they got into arguments among themselves and with the local residents.
After several months, all except one family returned back to Lebanon and other parts of the middle east because they could not adapt to Malaysia. The family that stayed could speak English and found work.
My personal observation is that the refugees had a lot of personal traumas and had learned to fight for survival. They have seen unspeakable horrors of family members being killed and tortured in front of them.
In their eyes, the world was an unfair place and even those who wanted to help them were using them. When blankets and clothes were distributed among them, they would argue among themselves as they accused each other of favouritism.
What I’m trying to say is, their journey as refugees/migrants in Malaysia will not be easy. People are quick to judge them. There is the language and cultural differences to overcome. Malaysians are also quick to judge viral videos without context. – Oct 4, 2024
A few years ago, Malaysia govt brought in a group of refugees from Syria and I was shooting a documentary with them. The Yayasan that sponsored them (guess which Yayasan?) put them in a few apartments in a new area. After the first few days, they got into arguments among… https://t.co/YxkW7IIREM
— Ooi Beng Cheang (@luxentX) October 3, 2024
