PUTRAJAYA is not bothered with losing the right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships, as it is more concerned about Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinians, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said the government was firm on its policy not to allow Israelis into the country as Israel is a war criminal.
“We are firm on this. They have broken international laws, but no one has said anything about that. It is our right to voice our stand.
“We have our reasons to bar them. Their athletes are not refugees, they are not suffering, and they come from a country which has broken international laws,” he told reporters after attending an event in Putrajaya.
Yesterday, the International Paralympic Committee revoked Malaysia’s right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in Sarawak from July 29 to August 4 after Putrajaya’s decision to ban athletes from Israel from taking part.
Malaysia, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, announced this month that it would bar Israelis from any event it would host.
Putrajaya’s decision had earned criticism from some countries, but Dr Mahathir has defended Malaysia’s ban on Israelis, likening it to US President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
“It is our right to state our own policies. The US also does not allow citizens of five Islamic nations to enter the country. Why do they not complain about that?
“Many European nations also do not allow outsiders to enter their borders,” Dr Mahathir said today.
The Pakatan Harapan chairman, who is prime minister again after staging an unexpected comeback, said he failed to understand why the rest of the world had to bow to Israel.
“I find that the world is forced to obey Israel. I fail to understand because the world has power. We will not follow.
“If we cannot hold the Olympics, we will hold other sporting events,” he said.
Tel Aviv and Jewish groups have long called Dr Mahathir anti-semitic for his firm stance against Israel. The latest row over the entry ban against Israeli swimmers earned him the label again.
At Oxford earlier this month, he said: “It is not fair to call me anti-Semitic. They should call other people anti-Semitic. The Arabs are all Semitic people.” – January 28, 2019.
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