KUALA LUMPUR: The Sumud Nusantara Convoy, a solidarity movement involving several countries, including those from Asean, arrived at the “Malam Himpunan dan Selawat Malaysiaku Bersama Gaza” at Dataran Merdeka here, which marks the climax of the Sumud Nusantara Carnival 2025.
The arrival of the group, comprising delegations from Malaysia's northern, eastern and central zones, was welcomed by the Finance Minister's political secretary Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim and Sumud Nusantara director-general and Cinta Gaza Malaysia chief executive officer Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri Kamaruzaman.
The group of nearly 100 participants also included representatives from eight countries, including Indonesia, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Pakistan, reflecting steadfastness in opposing the continued oppression of the people of Gaza.
"This mission is not intended for war but to exert pressure and to serve as a humanitarian mission to reject the cruelty and massacre of the people, especially in Gaza, which continues to this day," he told reporters on Sunday (Aug 24).
"Of course, there will be challenges (faced by the convoy mission) just as there were in 2010, but today we see more international countries exerting the same pressure (on Israel)," he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim officiated the launch and flag-off of the Sumud Nusantara Convoy.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Nadir said the convoy involving eight countries would move in two groups, departing on Aug 31 and Sept 4.
He said the first Asean-level convoy group would depart for Spain and the other for Tunisia before both joined the Global Flotilla en route to Gaza.
"This convoy will be the largest flotilla movement in history, involving dozens of ships and more than 50 countries," he said.
A representative from Indonesia, Rifa Berliana Arifin, praised the initiative of gathering the convoy and stressed that such efforts deserved the support of Muslims in the Nusantara region.
He said that after the participation of his country's representatives in the programme in Malaysia, other groups from Indonesia would join the Global Flotilla Convoy to Gaza. – Bernama
