THE Dewan Rakyat took a united stand on the war on Iraq.
Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed (BN – Shah Alam), who moved a motion condemning any unilateral action against Iraq, got the backing of all government and opposition MPs.
“Isn’t the White House going to listen to the huge demonstrations throughout the world, which are voices clamouring for peace?” he asked.
He questioned the double standards practised by the United States and its allies, saying that North Korea also possessed dangerous weapons.
Datuk Ruhanie Ahmad (BN – Parit Sulong) criticised the US for its hypocrisy when it said it wanted to deal with Iraq on humanitarian grounds.
“Why is it that, until today, the US has ignored the problems in Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War?” he asked, citing how 5,000 Iraqi children were said to have starved to death every month.
Many children were born without limbs due to the US bombing of Iraq, he added.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said PAS would join hands with the Government and other NGOs to send volunteers to Iraq if war breaks out.
He said the US wanted to revive colonialism under the guise of globalisation and trade liberalisation.
“As the sole superpower, it has become arrogant, forgetting that only God is the Almighty one,” he said.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the motion would underscore Parliament’s condemnation of any unilateral strike on Iraq.
He said the United Nations should be allowed to play its role in ensuring peace in West Asia and the world and the UN weapons inspectors must be given time to do their work.
“It worries us that the UN can be threatened,” he said.
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