KUANTAN: Thousands of people, regardless of their race, religion, or political affiliations, gathered at Dataran Majlis Bandaraya Kuantan here today to condemn the atrocities of Israel against the Palestinians.
Dozens of Palestinians, including lecturers at higher learning institutions and undergraduates from as far as Kuala Lumpur, were also present during the two-hour 'Pahang For Palestine" assembly, which began at 9am.
Participants, both young and old, came clad in white shirts, and donned Palestine flag muffler scarfs. They also carried placards and chanted slogans condemning Israel's "barbaric" acts.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, who called for a united condemnation of Israel's actions, described the gathering here a success as people of various races have come together as one to acknowledge their shared humanity.
"More than 6,000 people have come together today to show solidarity....there are people from the Chinese and Indian community, and this assembly goes beyond race or religion. We are all here today to denounce all forms of violence.
"We might not be able to provide much help to assist the people in Palestine but we can do what is within our capacity to condemn the insane and inhuman attack on Gaza.
"Palestine might be thousands of kilometres away from Pahang but remains close to our hearts," he said in his speech at the assembly.
Meanwhile, Wan Rosdy, who launched the Pahang For Palestine fund at the assembly said the Pahang government started the ball rolling by contributing RM100,000.
He said during a similar collection to aid Palestinians in 2021, Pahang collected some RM700,000 and the second round of aid collections will begin today.
Meanwhile, International Islamic University Malaysia lecturer Dr. Radwan Jamal Elatrash said he was traumatised by the series of attacks in Palestine.
"My siblings live in the West Bank and I am concerned about their safety, I can only communicate with them through WhatsApp call....my last trip back to my hometown was back in 1999," he said, hoping there will be an end to the long standing dispute.