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BERNAMA – Devastated Sewerage Systems In Gaza Will Affect Israel Too, Says Tun Mahathir

June 6, 2011 in Tun Dr. Mahathir

SEPANG, June 4 (Bernama) — Israel should actually support the mission to send humanitarian aid of 7.5km PVC pipes to Gaza as it will benefit Israelis as well, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Their whole sewerage system has broken down and because of that a lot of dirty effluent goes into the sea. It can carry diseases not only in Gaza but also neighboring countries including Israel,” he said.

“So actually Israel should support this but you know the Israelis, they don’t care at all for humanitarian aid. They just want to show they have power and they can stop people.”

Dr Mahathir was met at the KL International Airport (KLIA) after welcoming seven more crew members from the ship MV Finch who had joined the Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) mission to send the PVC pipes to Gaza.

They were Captain Jalil Mansor, Mohd Jaffrey Ariffin, Zainuddin Mohamad, Matthias Chang, Derek Graham, Jenny Graham and Julie Levasque.

There were two other crew members who returned directly to India namely Sharma Chandan Shimia and Pal Satya Prakash.

Dr Mahathir, who is the president of the foundation, however regarded the mission which was resuming “The Spirit of Rachel Corrie”, as a success.

“The mission is to show that we did not regard Israel as having the right to blockade as this is an open sea. It is a sea belonging to Gaza and therefore we want to show that we don’t respect Israel’s blockade and we want to break through the blockade.”

“In fact, they succeeded as it was only about 400 meters more (to go) but unfortunately Israel fired guns and all that,” he said, adding that he had given specific instruction that if the Israelis turned violent, “we will not to resist it.”

“So for me the mission is a success,” said Dr Mahathir who was still passionate over the mission although he had just been discharged after being admitted for 10 days at the National Heart Institute from May 18.

Earlier today, PGPF adviser, Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir said the PVC pipes consignment would be delivered by the representative of the foundation, Tan Sri Samsudin Hitam who is now in El-Arish, Egypt, and assisted by the Malaysian Embassy in Egypt.

He said the PGPF would continue its efforts to send the pipes measuring 7.5km long to Gaza via Rafah.

Last Wednesday, three more members who boarded the ship arrived safely at KLIA.

They were Bernama journalist Mohd Faizal Hassan, a journalist from New Straits Times, Iskandar Alang Bendahara and a volunteer worker from Felda Liaison Office in the Prime Minister’s Department, Mohd Radzillah Abdullah.

The lone vessel departed from the Port of Piraeus, Greece to challenge the illegal Israel-imposed siege of the Gaza Strip on May 11 and had succeeded to break the siege five days later.

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BERNAMA – PGPF Still Proud Although Mission Unable To Reach Gaza

June 3, 2011 in Articles

June 1, 2011

SEPANG, June 1 (Bernama) — Although the Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) Malaysia failed in its mission to send humanitarian aid right to the people of Gaza, it is proud of having broken Israel’s illegal seige of Gazan waters.

PGPF chairman Tan Sri Norian Mai said this success was meaningful for PGPF, apart from the spirit and courage of those onboard the cargo ship MV Finch carrying the humanitarian aid, regarding them as warriors.

“Although this mission cannot be said to be 100 per cent successful, it managed to break Israel’s illegal seige as the ship managed to enter the Gazan waters before being stopped by the Israeli navy,” he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, here, Wednesday.

Norian and PGPF adviser Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali were at the airport to welcome home Bernama reporter Mohd Faizal Hassan, New Straits Times reporter Iskandar Alang Bendahara and Mohd Radzillah Abdullah, a volunteer from the Felda publicity office under the Prime Minister’s Department.

He said although faced with the blockade, PGPF would still work at sending humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza soonest possible.

Norian said nine other volunteers onboard MV Finch, including four Malaysians, were expected to return to their countries after making the necessary arrangements for the PVC pipes to be sent to Gaza.

He also denied that mission leader Matthias Chang had been detained by the Egyptian authorities but was only refused the right to enter Egypt.

“This is the decision of the Egyptian authorities and we have sent an appeal letter through the Malaysian embassy there for Chang to be allowed to enter Egypt and fly home to Malaysia,” he said.

Dr Siti Hasmah said her husband, former premier and PGPF president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was proud of all the mission volunteers and thanked them for their sacrifice.

“Dr Mahathir is unable to be present here to welcome home the heroes today, but he wishes to congratulate and thank them for their sacrifice….he’s very proud of these warriors.

“We and their families have continuously prayed for their safety and should be happy now that they (some of them) are back home,” she said and joked with Mohd Faizal and Iskandar Alang that they should now have a floral bath.

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BERNAMA – Journalists Recall Experience When Israeli Fired At MV Finch

June 2, 2011 in Articles, Spotlight

June 2, 2011

SEPANG, June 1 (Bernama) — Two journalists who were on board the Malaysian aid ship, MV Finch, on the humanitarian mission to Palestine recalled their most terrifying experience in the trip.

It was when the Israeli naval boats fired warning shots at MV Finch in the waters off Rafah as the Malaysian aid ship was approaching shore, forcing it to withdraw to Egyptian waters .

Bernama journalist, Mohd Faizal Hassan, 28, said he was on the lower deck of the ship with New Straits Times journalist, Iskandar Alang Bendahara, 36, and a volunteer from the publicity office (felda) of the Prime Minister’s Department, Mohd Radzillah Abdullah, 36, when it happened.

They were among 12 passengers onboard MV Finch which left Malaysia on May 3 to send sewage pipes to Gaza.

“On that day, May 16, we and two other volunteers, Jenny Graham, from Ireland, and Julie Levesque, from Canada, were on the lower deck.

“We lay down and held on to each other when he heard the first shot. At that time, we left everything to God,” he said when met on arrival at the KL International Airport here Wednesday.

Mohd Faizal, who was involved in the Malaysian humanitarian mission to Afghanistan with the armed forced in October last year and the aid mission to Japan last March, said it was a terrifying experience for them because they did not know what was really happening.

“Only God knew our feelings then,” he added.

He said it was only after the ship entered Egyptian waters that they went to the upper deck and was glad that everybody was safe.

“We are grateful that the Israeli soldiers did not come onboard our ship,” he added.

Mohd Faizal said the experience on MV Finch would never be forgotten and that his relationship with others onboard was very close that they were like brothers.

For Iskandar, despite the tense and dangerous situation, he managed to gather enough courage to video-tape the Israeli’s action.

“I was able to record when the Israeli fired twice at our ship, but the video cannot be viewed yet. We will show it when others have returned home,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mohd Radzillah said that all this while he had only heard about Israeli’s cruelty.

“I have learned a lot during the journey. Lessons that can make us stronger,” he added.

The MV Finch was steered by a Malaysian, Captain Abdul Jalil Mansor, and assisted by four crew members, including two Malaysians, Zainuddin Mohamad and Mohd Jaffery Ariffin. The two others are Indian nationals, Sharma Chandan Shimla and Pal Satya Prakash.

The ship is still outside the port of El-Arish in Egypt and until yesterday, it has yet to be given permission to berth by the Egyptian government.

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Latest Update from the Spirit of Rachel Corrie, 30th May 2011

May 31, 2011 in Articles, PLF News

3:00pm Egyptian Time, 30th May 2011

The  humanitarian aid ship MV Finch also known as the Spirit of Rachel Corrie has since 17th May 2011 been turned into a prison ship for all intents and purposes.

What reason can there be when both Egyptian and Malaysian Governments have publicly agreed that the ship can berth and discharge the much needed cargo of PVC pipes for Gaza’s sewerage system?

Yet, the ship and the crew are not allowed to berth and disembark.

They are detained without just excuse and are now entering the third week of detention.

This is totally unacceptable and the Egyptian Government’s actions should be criticised in no uncertain terms.

MATTHIAS CHANG,

MISSION LEADER,

THE SPIRIT OF RACHEL CORRIE,

30TH MAY 2011

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The Star – Egyptian minister to help ship

May 25, 2011 in PLF News

Dr Nabeel Al Arabi

May 24, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR: Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Nabil Al Arabi has agreed to help the humanitarian aid vessel Spirit of Rachel Corrie to dock at the Port of Al Arish, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.

He said he and Dr Nabil would further discuss the matter during the 16th Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Bali tomorrow.

“I have spoken to Dr Nabil requesting his assistance to expedite the issuance of approval from the Egyptian authorities for the vessel to dock at the port and he has agreed,” Anifah said in a statement yesterday.

He said the Malaysian Embassy in Cairo and its officials at the Port of Al Arish would continue to assist the 12 volunteers on the ship and the crew.

Meanwhile, Spirit of Rachel Corrie mission leader Matthias Chang, in an email, said a unanimous deci- sion had been made to issue an ultimatum to the Egyptian Port Authority at 11am Egyptian time (5pm) yesterday.

The ultimatum was that the group would leave Egypt and sail to Gaza if no permission to berth was given by 2pm Egyptian time (8pm) yesterday.

Chang later sent an update at 3.53pm Egyptian time (9.53pm), saying that the Egyptian navy was forcing the ship out of its territorial waters.

However, in a third email update sent at 6.04pm Egyptian time (12.04am), Chang said the ship’s aqua pilot sailing system had broken down, causing their ship to spin in circles.

“We have called for assistance from the port, as under international law, if the ship has no steering system or a defective one, a tug boat must be sent to take the ship back to port,” he said, adding that it would otherwise be very dangerous for the passengers.

Chang said the ship had been seven miles away from the port but still had five miles to go before reaching international waters when the system broke down.

In another development, the Perdana Global Peace Foundation said it was deeply saddened by the lack of cooperation given by Egyptian authorities despite all efforts to negotiate the docking of the Spirit of Rachel Corrie at the port.

“Spirit of Rachel Corrie has been at sea for the past 12 days and will now again attempt to break the illegal Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement.

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