The letter below dated 10 April was signed by a diverse group of 24 individuals in Malaysia and sent to the US Ambassador to Malaysia, Edgard D Kagan, on 10 April. The letter expresses their deep collective concern over the continued wilful starvation and deprivation of the entire population of Gaza by Israel, and its continued bombardment, all resulting in thousands of civilian deaths including children.
The embassy replied on 2 May after two reminders from the group.
The group are now requesting a meeting with the ambassador.
10 April, Penang
Ambassador Edgard D Kagan, US Embassy, Kuala Lumpur
Dear Ambassador Kagan
A plea to Washington (through you) to stop the killing in Gaza
- Sign up for Aliran's free daily email updates or weekly newsletters or both
- Make a one-off donation to Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN), CIMB a/c 8004240948
- Make a regular pledge or periodic auto-donation to Aliran
- Become an Aliran member
We write to you as a diverse group of citizens and residents of the country for which you are the US ambassador. In particular, we write to you as a human being knowing that you represent the country that can make a difference.
This letter does not seek to engage in the polemics of the Israel-Palestine conflict. You may even guess, rightly, that we are supporters of the Palestinian cause (without being anti-Jewish).
But that would not be relevant to this letter of appeal. Even though our views will not likely be in total agreement, there must, nevertheless, be a common ground on which we all can stand as people, as humans with a measure of decency and a humane instinct.
The death and destruction in Gaza must stop. An entire civilian population is under renewed and prolonged bombardment while under the threat of mass starvation and death from disease due to the ongoing blockade of food, water, fuel and medicine. Families are forced to trudge from one place to another in search of putative safe areas.
They are dying. You have children of your own. Children are dying by the masses, losing limbs, getting blown up, amputated without anesthesia. We, as others, are at the edge of witnessing catastrophic, runaway, uncontrolled mass killing in Gaza. In the midst of all this, inconceivably, silence; yet silence there is in the most important places.
This letter does not seek to engage in whys and wherefores. It only seeks to appeal to you, heart to heart, in the immediate, to please do what you can as US ambassador to influence your country’s actions to stop a worse catastrophe than what has already happened.
Your country, the United States, is the one that can act to put a halt to this disaster. We are a small group of people in Malaysia where you represent the US. We, however, channel an anguish and a cry for help in a human catastrophe in Gaza that must be worthy of compassion in all of us however we may see the situation.
Please Ambassador Kagan, do something, as much as you are able to. You have a job but you also have a heart – please influence a lifting of the Israeli blockade on aid and supplies into Gaza and a stop to the supply of weapons to Israel.
As for the whys and wherefores, unlikely though it may be, we can be a way by which you might dialogue with how citizens and residents in this country feel and what they think of what is going on in Palestine/Gaza and the position of the US.
We would be happy to talk. In fact, presuming that engaging with people in Malaysia is part of your job, please make an appointment and have a meeting with us. We will be sharing this letter with others of like-minded concern.
- Tong Veng Wye
- Cathie Sanchez
- Sarah Amin
- Annelies Allain
- Jean Pierre Allain
- Rose Salleh
- Awangku Abdul Rahman
- Mahmuda Bibi
- Kevin Ooi Wey Hun
- Zulfikar Aziz
- Anwar Fazal
- Pier Garcia
- Aaron Hor
- Jennifer Mourin
- Zoe Olsommer
- Teoh Seng Aun
- Agnes James
- Henry Loh Kee Wey
- Astadilla Mohd Zamri
- Amer Mahfudz Md Fuad
- Yeng Su Ying
- Meena Raman
- Agatha Foo
- Nazari Ismail
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
