KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah met 22 Palestinian students at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) campus in Gombak today.
Tunku Azizah, who is also IIUM's constitutional head, spent 45 minutes listening to the students' concerns about the unrest in their homeland.
Her Majesty, visibly moved by the group's narratives, expressed sadness and sympathy for the Palestinian people's suffering, who have been denied their rights and oppressed by the Zionist regime for so long.
The Queen invited those present to pray and expressed hope for the relevant authorities to take immediate action to end the atrocities against the Palestinian people.
During the meeting, Tunku Azizah also accepted a letter representing the heartfelt voices of IIUM's Palestinian student community to be presented to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
There are currently 43 Palestinian students studying various fields at IIUM. Thirty are taking up master's or doctorate degree programmes, while the rest are pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Belal Ahmed, 30, a IIUM Palestinian student community representative pursuing a master's degree in law, said it has been difficult to contact his family in Gaza since the recent conflict began on October 7.
"We have lost contact with them since the war started. We send a message, and they reply only after a week, or two or three days," he told the press, adding that his family has to walk over five kilometres to get 20 litres of clean water as supply is limited.
Meanwhile, IIUM Rector Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said the university established an emergency humanitarian aid fund for the Palestinian people earlier this month.
RM60,000 has been collected so far, and the fund is still open for donations until tomorrow.
Funds collected will be coordinated by the Higher Education Ministry and distributed to the responsible agencies to directly assist the victims.
— Bernama
