KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has urged Malaysians to continue boycotting Israeli products as a strong message to hold Israel accountable for its atrocities against the Palestinians.
He said such a movement is an alternative that can also effectively put pressure on Israel in addition to providing donations for the Palestinian cause.
"We may not be able to send troops to fight against Israel, but in some way such as this (boycott), we can help the people of Palestine.
"There might be Muslims who won't boycott, but we have about 1.7 billion Muslims around the world.
"Thus, if half or a quarter of these 1.7 billion continue boycotting Israeli products such as Starbucks or Coca-Cola, I believe Israel will understand the power of the Muslim people," he said in a speech during the Aid4Palestine Fund Handover Ceremony at Cyberjaya.
However, he highlighted the limitations that Malaysia faced, such as the inability to oppose the United States with its decisions relating to the interests of Palestinians.
"For example, If Malaysia is denied permission by the United States to send peacekeeping forces (to Palestine), there is nothing we can do about it."
He then cited the example of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, stating that the Muslims were once victorious, powerful, and possessed authority and strength in protecting other Muslims across the globe.
"They managed to establish a very strong country (with military strength) that could be deployed anywhere to defend and protect Muslims.
"That's why in the past, there weren't many stories about oppression against Muslims. It was because we had a world power that could protect us, which was Turkey under the Ottoman rule.
"Unfortunately, now there is not a single Islamic country that can act as a world power. We are all weak, and scattered everywhere, and we see Muslims being oppressed, killed, abused, and subjected to various pressures everywhere.
"Even Arab countries are pressured and forced to eventually support our enemies. It's because they are unable to defend the security of Muslims," he said.
