Al-Quds event to boost Malaysia's image in Islamic world

Malaysia is hosting its first conference of the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds.

Sources say it is part of the country’s image boosting exercise in the Islamic world.

For this occasion, the event is moving from Turkey to Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad wants to be seen playing a big role in the Muslim world.

Under his tutelage, the country hosted the KL Summit in December.

He will officiate at the event at the One World Hotel in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya on Feb 8-9.

Shahrul Aman Mohd Saari, secretary, of the 3rd Annual Conference says LP4Q has grown since 2015.

From 125 MPs and 25 countries, it grew to 700 MPs and 70 countries in 2018. About 3,000 MPs have signed the Al-Quds/Jerusalem Pledge.

One of the key initiatives is to form Palestine Caucuses and Committees. Malaysia is forming an All-party Parliament Committee.

Istanbul, Turkey were the original host of the conferences. They took place in 2016 and 2018.

Participants had then called for the formation of a committee to document Israeli crimes in occupied Palestine.

The aim is to present the documents to The Hague-based International Criminal Court.

They called for the establishment of a legal committee to defend Palestinian lawmakers detained or exiled by Israel.

They also appealed to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Al-Quds Committee and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to take “all necessary measures” to protect the historic heritage of Jerusalem.