Dewan Rakyat condemns NZ mosque attacks, expresses condolences to families of the dead
KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat yesterday strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on two mosques in New Zealand last Friday and expressed condolences to the families of the 50 people killed in the massacre.
Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Yusof made the statement after a debate on the motion to condemn the attacks tabled by Port Dickson MP Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Mohamad Ariff called on all Muslim MPs to recite the AlFatihah and the non-Muslim MPs to observe a minute’s silence as a mark of respect for the dead.
“The Malaysian Parliament stands together with the Government and Parliament of New Zealand in rejecting terrorism, hatred and violence in all forms,” he said.
Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Senator Datuk Marzuki Yahya informed the House that the government, through the Malaysian High Commission in Wellington, will continue to closely monitor the condition of the three Malaysians injured in the incident.
A lone gunman opened fire at worshippers in two mosques in Christchurch during the Friday prayers, killing 50 and injuring scores of others.
Marzuki also said that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sent a letter of condolence to his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern soon after the incident and thanked the Wellington authorities for the emergency aid extended to Malaysians there.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission issued a statement cautioning the people against sharing a video clip of the shootings and warning them it is an offence to do so under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
“In today’s era of social media, when such an incident happens, we have to exercise concern and not share such a thing as it will have much impact on the victims.
“This is one of the matters that we have to look into carefully and I will propose several changes to the laws,” he said.
Meanwhile, when speaking during the debate on the motion, Anwar said the world, including Malaysia, should monitor the development of Islamophobia.
He said the white supremacy ideology is also seen to be spreading through the race-based parties in western countries.
“The trend in Europe is the development of race-based parties that are opposed to Islam, other religions and immigrants, and they have support among the people.
“This trend will not cease and I stress that the Christchurch incident was one big disaster because of such sentiment,” he said.
Kepala Batas MP Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican praised the government, especially the Foreign Ministry, for having responded swiftly and efficiently in providing assistance to the Malaysians affected by the attacks. — Bernama