DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim stood his ground at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco in expressing his condemnation of the relentless attacks on Gaza.
The prime minister summed up the atrocities as an “abandonment of moral responsibilities”, stressing that massive destruction will not end until it is consciously stopped.
“What’s happening in Gaza (is) the abandonment of moral responsibility…condoning (such) massive destruction will result in further calamity,” he said.
He was speaking at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Dialogue at the Moscone Centre, which was also attended by US president Joe Biden.
Also present at the informal dialogue and luncheon were leaders of other APEC member nations.
Anwar has been demonstrating an unwavering stance on the crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory, raising the issue at various venues even prior to arriving in San Francisco for the summit.
Over 11,470 people were killed by Israel’s airstrikes in Gaza. The exact death toll may be higher due to the collapse of the health system in Gaza days ago, Al Jazeera reported today.
China-US engagement: key to APEC’s future
In his speech on Thursday (California time), Anwar had also commended Biden and Chinese president Xi Jinping for being able to hold talks despite the intense rivalry between the two powerhouses.
He emphasised that China-US engagement is key to the future of APEC.
Both Xi and Biden met two days ago, with Biden having reportedly described the outcome as “some of the most productive and constructive discussions we’ve had”.
Roadmap to clean energy
Anwar also spoke about Malaysia’s continuous pursuit of global sustainability and combating climate change.
Although Malaysia only produces 0.658% of global greenhouse emissions, a quarter of the country’s population now risk displacement if no action is taken to stem climate change, he said.
He said Malaysia is in the midst of transforming the country’s economy, noting that more investments would be made to ensure they are in tandem with a cleaner and greener future via the National Energy Transition Roadmap.
On the same note, national oil company Petronas is also doing its bit by setting the net zero carbon emissions goal by 2050, he said.
Anwar said works are also underway in developing Islamic financial instruments to finance renewable energy projects.
Towards this end, he also called on developed countries to do more in bearing the responsibility to assist emerging economies that are not getting the right support for energy transition. – The Vibes, November 17, 2023
