TO many people, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin comes across as reserved and aloof. He rarely shows emotion.
The media’s movement at the base that day was restricted at first. Even from afar, though, Farik said he could see that Mohamed Khaled was pensive while waiting for the two Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Airbus A-400M aircraft transporting the group to touch down.
But deep down, Mohamed Khaled told this columnist later, he was feeling a mixture of emotions to finally see this group of Palestinians on Malaysian soil.
“It was a sense of relief and satisfaction when I saw them on arrival. At the same time, there was that sadness, thinking about what happened to them, seeing so many innocent people who had become victims of atrocities,” Mohamed Khaled said.
The arrival of this group, comprising 41 children and 86 family members, is the culmination of more than two months of planning by Mindef following a Cabinet directive to fly in the injured Palestinians from Gaza. The youngest is an eight-month-old baby boy.
It was by all means a risky and difficult operation as it involved transporting injured people out of a theatre of war. Any movement from Gaza would first have to be coordinated with Egypt, which is inundated with thousands of fleeing Palestinians.
From the word go, Mindef started mapping out what needed to be done. This included which hospital in Malaysia to admit the injured that has the facilities to cater for their types of injury.
“A decision was made to put them at Tuanku Mizan Armed Forces Hospital which is equipped and ready to treat trauma patients. Then there is the transit home to place the guardians,” said an officer familiar with the operation.
Logistics was another concern.
There was also another worry of sabotage or risks of rocket attack since the operation involved going to the Almaza Air Force Base in the border area of Egypt. Sending a commercial plane was out of the question.
A commercial plane landing at a military base would attract too much attention. There were also many other things to consider if a commercial airplane was used, including the hefty insurance.
“This is a humanitarian flight operation. One week before the RMAF aircraft departed, Mindef was given a four-day window by Egypt to go in and out.
“We had already sent people on the ground to work closely with the Egyptians to filter the Pales-tinians that we can take out. They needed to be fit to fly,” the officer explained.
That means the severely injured could not be brought to Malaysia.
Another area which needed careful planning was mapping out the flight route that the two RMAF aircraft would take.
“Permission is needed for every airspace over every country the flight would pass over travelling to and from the area. The aircraft must also be ready for a long haul flight,” an official said. The aircraft had refuelled in Pakistan.
With such a delicate operation, professionalism and experience came into play. Our armed forces have gone through multi-military exercises over the years and this time around the same template were used.
“It is just a matter of implementing it real time,” said an officer.
The Bosnian model was also used, referring to the scores of Bosnians who were brought to Malaysia to escape the raging civil war there in the 1990s.
Since arriving in Malaysia, several of the injured Palestinians had to undergo more procedures because the ones done before coming to Malaysia were conducted hastily.
“The team felt something was not right, every time they went through scanners, the machine would beep. It was discovered some of them had metal embedded in their bodies without realising it. So more operations had to be conducted by the medical team here,” said Mohamed Khaled. Much to the chagrin of many, some Malaysians have started questioning the Malaysian government’s decision, targeting their attacks on social media at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. They said the government should take care of Malaysians first before treating foreigners. Others said that Malaysia is already hosting thousands of other refugees, including the Rohingya.
Anwar has lashed out at those who questioned the government’s efforts, describing the remarks made by some individuals as rude and lacking in basic human compassion.
A Malaysian official was even more frank, calling the questioning of Malaysia’s move as “stupid and lacking empathy”.
He argued, “Do we have to wait until the welfare of every single Malaysian is taken care of before we do something to help those oppressed and in need who are not among us? Surely not.
“In the bigger scheme of things, exactly how many people have we brought to Malaysia? More than 40,000 have been recorded dead from the war in Gaza, many more injured. Have some compassion.”
Mohamed Khaled said Malaysia is a friendly Muslim country and trying its best to ease the burden of Egypt.
“At the same time we also show solidarity and on compassionate grounds, we try to ease the suffering of the Palestinians by trying to treat the injured. What is wrong with that?”
He reminded Malaysians that bringing in the Palestinians should remind them to appreciate the peace Malaysians enjoy.
“The voice of a few Malaysians does not reflect the majority of citizens who are generally compassionate.
“And this fear that they will be here forever is unfounded. They will want to return to their country which will find a lasting peace,” he added.
It was a dangerous mission carried out by Mindef, working together with Wisma Putra and the National Security Council.
According to officials, Moha-med Khaled showed leadership in this operation.
“He is the facilitator. When decisions have to be made at the top level, he gets it done,” said one official.
As for the group of Palestinians, they are well and the latest news is that the eight-month-old baby boy is doing just fine.
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